Don't Worry About It
by idrivelikeacullen
Summary: AH The girls are best friends. They meet Emmett and Jasper in college...and of course Emmett's brother Edward. Only problem is is that Edward has some issues..
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not Mine

BPOV

Alice, Rose, and I have been best friends since I moved to Forks in the 7th grade. We did everything together. Rose is a year older than Alice and I and is leaving for college in Seattle this fall, or should I say next week. This was the official last days of the 'The Three Musketeers'. Not one of us was in a good mood.

I was sitting on the floor in Rose's bedroom, Alice was lying on the bed, and Rose was in the closet packing up the rest of her clothes.

"This is not really goodbye guys. Don't look so sad." Rose whined with her head peeking out from the closet.

"I can't help it Rose. In just a week Alice and I will have to go back to Forks High without you. I just won't be the same!" I said with a little pout.

"Bella, just think of all of the fun we will have when you guys come to visit me on the weekends? The Three Musketeers back in action!" we all half smiled at that.

"Not to mention all of the shopping we'll be doing!" Alice said somewhat unenthusiastically. Not like Alice at all. I know that she was hurting too. We still had each other right?

The last week flew by. I was really going to miss my friend, but I knew that Rose would be OK on her own. If it was me, I would wait here in Forks until the other two graduated and we could all go together. Rose was much stronger than I am.

School started and it was much the same except for our missing best friend. Alice and I were planning a trip to Seattle to see Rose next month. I couldn't wait. Of course we talked on the phone almost every night, but to see each other in person would be much better. For the last two weeks Rose had been talking nonstop about a guy that she had met at school. I think that she has really likes this guy the way she gushes about him. I almost felt like I knew him too. We had been invited over to his parents' house for dinner on Saturday night. Rose was so excited for us to meet him.

Finally the day came and Alice and I were on our way. We took off right after school on Friday.

We sped down the freeway to Seattle in Alice's little yellow Porsche. We would be with our best friend in about four hours. Maybe three with Alice's driving.

"I can't wait to see Rose!" I squealed once we were two hours into our drive. "I am so curious about this Emmett also. Rose has never acted this way about a guy before. I'm so happy for her."

"I know. It's so nice of his family to invite us over like this. Us being complete strangers and all." Alice noted. "I hope he has friends."

"Oh my God, Alice! Wait. You think that he does?" I laughed.

"Rose said that he has a pretty hot best friend…I'm just saying."

"Just one friend? Not two. No fair Alice! I don't stand a chance!" I joked.

The rest of the drive went on with us thinking about the possibilities of Emmett having a couple of good looking friends that would like a petite pixie and a clumsy brunette.

We pulled up to the dorm where Rose lives and heard her yelling to us from her window.

"I can't believe you are both finally here! I've missed you so much. I'll be right down!"

The next thing I know I was being hugged tightly by Rose. "Rose please, can't breathe!" I gasped. She let go and hugged Alice in much the same fashion.

Our first night we stayed up late just gossiping about school, and Emmett. We had ordered pizza and had a slumber party in her room. Luckily Rose had gotten her own room. She was assigned a roommate, but the roommate dropped out of school in the first week.

"Emmett is so sweet. I can't wait for you to meet him. We will be heading over to his parents' house at about four. He is also bringing his best friend Jasper. The one I told you that would be perfect for you Alice. He's very interested in meeting you!" Rose said whilst nudging Alice's shoulder. Alice just blushed.

We got to the Cullen's house about fifteen minutes early, and found that Emmett and Jasper were already there. They were getting out of a giant red Jeep. Emmett was a big muscular guy with dark curly hair. Jasper was tall and lean with wavy blonde hair. Both men were very good-looking. Rose jumped out of the car to meet Emmett and gave him a big kiss and hug.

"Bella, Alice this is my boyfriend Emmett Cullen, and his friend and roommate Jasper Whitlock. Emmett, Jasper, these are my two best friends in the world, Bella Swan and Alice Brandon!" Rose said as she introduced us. Jasper and Alice just stared at each other. Fifth wheel anyone?

"Nice to meet you both, Rose has told us all about you" Emmett said. "Come in and meet my folks."

The house was beautiful, and huge. It was a colonial style home with pillars out front and a wraparound porch. But that was nothing compared to the inside. The living area was a big spacious room with two huge couches and a couple of chairs. This must have been a 'formal living room' is didn't looked too lived in.

We walked further into the house and met up with Emmett's parents. Esme Cullen was a beautiful woman with caramel colored hair that was just touching her shoulders. She was modestly dressed with slacks and a "v" necked sweater. Carlisle Cullen was a medium built man with blonde hair and was dressed in slacks and a white button down shirt. They looked perfect together.

"Hi kids. Make yourselves at home. Dinner will be in about a half and hour" Esme said. "Emmett why don't you give the girls a tour of the house while you wait?"

"OK, mom" Emmett replied.

We started walking through the house starting with the family room area. This is where the 'living' looked like it really took place. Again there were two big couches, and two chairs. The was a huge entertainment system against the wall with speakers located throughout the room. We passed a dining room, which we would see later during dinner along with the kitchen.

We headed up stairs to find five bedrooms. "This one is my parents' room. We don't need to go in there. This is my room" he winked at Rose. "This is the guest room. The end of the hall is…um…Well this is my dad's study over here" Emmett explained. It was weird the way he avoided the room at the end of the hall. We all walked into the study.

"Aw...Emmett is this you?" Alice asked. Pointing to a picture.

I looked to where she was pointing, it was a giant book shelf with tons of books on it, but two of the shelves had rows of pictures and what looked like awards on it. The picture that Alice was holding was a picture of two boys. One that was obviously a ten year old Emmett and another boy with reddish-brown hair that looked to be eight or so. They were both grinning ear to ear holding two big fish that they had just caught. Both boys were filthy. The younger one was so cute. His smile was crooked, and it looked like he had missing teeth.

"Uh, yeah, that's me" he said. His smile faded. I wondered silently what was wrong. Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Alice had moved on to Emmett's old room. I was mesmerized by the picture that we were just looking at.

I looked at the other frames on the shelves. There were several pictures of Emmett with this other boy ranging from baby pictures to the fishing picture. One picture was Emmett standing in front of the jeep that we had seen outside, he looked younger though. Another was Emmett with a graduation cap and gown. His parents were in the picture and they couldn't have looked happier. The next picture was of the other boy. He looked to be about thirteen or fourteen. He was standing in front of a grand piano on a stage. He was wearing a tuxedo. He looked happy with that lopsided grin plastered to his face. The next picture of this mystery boy was him standing in front of a shiny silver car. It was a picture just like the one of Emmett and the Jeep. Except the boy didn't look happy at all. He actually looked kind of pissed off. He wasn't even looking at the camera. That was the last picture of the boy. It was like he dropped off the face of the earth after that. There was more of Emmett that looked like they were taken this year.

"That other boy was, is, my brother Edward" Emmett said from behind me. "He's kind of a sore subject around here. Please don't bring him up to my parents"

"Oh" was all I could say. And with that we left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Alice and I went back to Forks and continued high school

Alice and I went back to Forks and continued high school. We had visited Rose several times throughout the school year. We had even been back to the Cullens' house for dinner a few times. We received our acceptance letters to the University of Washington in Seattle sometime in March. Everything was falling into place for us. Soon we would be back together full time.

Emmett and Rose's relationship continued to grow. They were planning on moving in together for the next school year. Other relationships started. Since their first meeting back in October, Alice and Jasper had been calling each other nightly and spending time with each other during our visits to Rose. I was happy for both of them, but I knew that in time we would grow further apart. Two couples and one single. Bella on her own.

It was just one week away until the start of school, and we had all been invited back to the Cullens' house for dinner before the start of school.

"I'm so glad you girls are going to be here at school with the boys this year" Esme said while she was setting out tonight's entrée.

"Thank you Esme, we can't wait until next week!" Alice and I said at the same time. We all looked at each other and laughed.

We were just finishing up with dinner and Esme was setting out the dessert when the shrill sound of their house phone rang.

Since Esme was already standing, she grabbed the phone off of the sideboard behind my chair. "Hello?" she asked her normally smiling face changing into a pained one. "Ok…uh-huh?...let me put my husband on, just a moment" She passed the phone to Carlisle.

"Hello? Yes this is he. Yes, he turned 18 in June. Wait, I don't understand." Carlisle looked up at all of our staring faces and walked into the kitchen. Esme still looked worried.

We started out desserts, but Esme and Emmett remained still and silent as Carlisle walked back into the dining room.

"Well, that was the _school_ calling" he said looking between Esme and Emmett "They are sending him home. We are picking him up on Sunday"

"WHAT?!" Emmett roared "Can they do that? What did the fuck up do this time? Kill someone?"

"Settle down Emmett. It's nothing like that. He's 18 now, an adult. He can't legally be there anymore." Carlisle stated looking around the room at our stunned faces.

Rose, Alice, Jasper, and I were looking at each other in disbelief. We had no idea what was going on. Emmett caught on, and looked up at us. "Come up to my room. I have a bit of explaining to do." He got up and we followed him up the stairs.

"Everyone get comfortable, this is a long story" he started.

"Since you all saw the pictures the first time you were here, you probably guessed that I have a brother. He is a year and a half younger that me. Edward and I used to be best friends, that is until about two years ago.

"Since the day they brought him home from the hospital we were inseparable. We enjoyed the same movies, sports, and sometimes music. Edward was always an oddball in that area, and I could never keep up.

"Edward was the perfect child. Never in trouble, got good grades, charmed everyone. Our mother taught him to play the piano from the time he could reach the keys until he surpassed her knowledge of the instrument. A prodigy they would say.

"One day after school when he was 15, Edward came to our parents begging to go on a school trip to New York City. The music department was going on a week long trip to study music and theatre. Edward was dying to go. Our parents couldn't deny him anything, and he went.

"After he got home he was…different. He seemed on edge, something was making him nervous. He would check the mail everyday as soon as we got home from school.

"It wasn't until about two months later that he got a huge letter in the mail. My parents being curious opened it before we had gotten home from school. It was sitting on the dining room table with both of my parents looking it over when we got home.

"Come to find out, our perfect Edward had applied to, auditioned for, and had been accepted in to the Julliard School in New York City all on the sly.

"When we walked in from school and found our parents in the dining room Edward's eyes lit up. He saw the envelope and its contents spread out on the table. 'No way, I got in!' he was practically floating on air 'They hardly ever admit a student as young as me, I can't wait. When does it start? Oh. My. God. A full scholarship!' He was beyond excited. That is until my dad spoke up.

"He said that he couldn't believe that Edward would go behind their backs and do this. That it didn't matter anyway since he was not going to go. My dad said that he was too young. He needed to finish high school and then go to a school where he could graduate with a 'real' career. My dad always thought that Edward would follow in his footsteps and become a doctor.

"Edward sat on the couch with his elbows on his knees, with one hand pinching the bridge of his nose. He listened to our father without saying a word. But when he finally looked up there was something strange about him. Something snapped in that perfect head of his. The glare he gave my parents was disturbing. It made me shiver. My mom started crying, and my dad stood there looking stunned. Edward never said a word about it again. In fact, he never said anything else at all.

"We were nearing the last month of school. Edward had hardly spoken two words to anyone. He was still giving my parents the cold shoulder, but he would occasionally speak at school if he had to. I noticed him hanging out with a group of seniors that I knew he had hated before. Sure he knew them, he had spoken with them before, but he had never actually hung out with them. It was odd. James, Laurent, and Victoria were notorious for their parties and bad behavior. Little did I know that this was the beginning of the end for Edward.

"He would come home late at night drunk off his ass. I, of course, would hear him come in and cover for him the best that I could. Get him into bed and keep him under the 'parent radar'. This became a routine for us. There were a couple of times that my parents caught him. This is when Edward decided to speak to our parents. In drunken fits of rage. They would yell at each other for hours. It was too much to take.

"School ended just before Edward's 16th birthday. My parents gave him a new car, just as they did for me. They were trying to make things normal again. Edward just scoffed at their attempt and never drove the car. It just sat in the garage.

"Mid summer was one of the worst nights of my life. Edward came home drunk again, but this time it was bad. I heard the car stop out front with loud music blaring. I looked out the window to see what was going on. What I saw was Edward's 'friends' pushing him out of the car onto the front lawn. He stumbled and fell face first into the grass. By the time I made it downstairs he had rolled himself over and was laughing hysterically. I tried to quiet him as I helped him inside. We made it into his room where I dropped him on his bed where he rolled over and puked on the floor. He rolled back over and just laid there looking at me until his eyes rolled into the back of his head and started shaking. I panicked.

"I called for my dad to come and help. Carlisle came rushing in and made me call 911. It turned out that Edward's blood alcohol level was through the roof, and that he had also had a good quantity of Ecstasy in his system. He was in the hospital for two days after that. My mother was beside herself. She just stayed in Edward's room. She kept saying 'Why Edward why? You came close to killing yourself' and he replied 'Not close enough'. My mother's heart was officially broken that day."

"God, Emmett, why did you never tell any of us about this?" Rose asked. She was sitting next to him on the bed holding one of his hands between both of hers. Jasper and Alice were sitting in a recliner in the corner with shocked looks on both of their faces. I was sitting against the wall in the corner hugging my knees with tears in my eyes.

"I didn't want to let out the families dirty laundry. I have pretty much acted like he never existed for the last year and a half" Emmett said.

"But the pain didn't stop there." He continued. "There were a string of stupid things that Edward did after that. At the beginning of the school year he and his friends thought that it would be cool to steal a car. Of course Edward was the one driving and of course he was tipsy. Just enough to get a DUI. He got probation for 6 months and had to pay a fine and do community service.

"Just as things couldn't get any worse they did. Just after winter break was over, we got a call from the hospital at three in the morning telling us that Edward had gotten into an auto accident. We all ran out to the garage to get in the car and noticed that Edward's car that he had gotten for his birthday was gone.

"We got to the hospital and found that Edward had been drinking again and had crashed his car into a tree. He sustained a broken leg, a broken arm, a concussion and a gash across his forehead. The police were there this time. Another DUI was issued. He was still on probation.

"The judge didn't go easy on him this time. He was sentenced to go to a juvenile hall type facility that would also treat him for substance abuse. He was put there to stay until his 18th birthday.

"At first we would go to visit him every weekend. He would just sit in the visiting area and look at the wall instead of us. After about three months of this he stopped even coming out into the visitor's area. My mom still goes twice a month to wait to see if he will come out. He never does.

"Throughout his stay there, even if we don't see him, we still get calls about his progress. Mostly we get calls telling us that he had been in a fight or something.

"And that brings us up to date" Emmett finished with tears in his eyes. Rose moved closer to him and rubbed his back.

I couldn't believe what I just heard. I thought back to the picture on the bookshelf. What happened to the cute little boy fishing with his brother? What would cause someone to go over the deep end like this? What would life be like after Sunday at the Cullen house when Edward would be home? Would we be invited back?


	3. Chapter 3

The first week of school had come and gone. I had four classes this semester: English Lit., Theatre Appreciation, Math, and Psychology. Three of the classes resembled a normal high school type setting. A room with 20-25 desks and a teacher up front. Easy enough to pay attention in. My Psychology class however was somewhat intimidating. It was a huge forum hall with over 200 seats. It was rows and rows of seats in a stadium with a podium, a microphone, and a big movie screen up front. I've never seen anything like it except in the movies. I would be just a face without a name in here.

I arrived to my Psychology class a little early to find that the teacher had made a seating chart. It was on the screen in the front of the class. I don't know if I was lucky or unlucky. My seat was in the top row with only three people to my right. The left side of me was the rest of the empty row. Good for daydreaming, but bad if I really wanted to pay attention. Psychology was my last class of the afternoon. I sat down and waited for class to begin.

"As you can see, I've made a seating chart for you. It is important that you sit in your assigned seat for the remainder of the semester or you will run the risk of being counted absent" Dr. Price stated followed by a couple of groans. Apparently there were some students that were friends and now they couldn't sit together. Most noticeable were a ditzy looking blonde and her curly headed sidekick. The blonde was in my row two seats down from me.

Class was just about to start and in walked a boy with hair that looked like he had just rolled out of bed. It was hanging in his eyes and sticking out all over his head. He wore faded jeans with a hole in one knee, a grey t-shirt that clung to his chest, and black leather boots that looked like they had seen better days. The hem of his jeans hung over the tops of them and dragged on the ground near his heel. I couldn't see his face, but he looked oddly familiar.

Dr. Price signed a slip of paper for him and handed it back. He then pointed up towards me and to my left. The row of empty seats. The boy turned and looked up and I was met with the greenest eyes I have ever seen. Well, that I have seen in person. I realized that I had actually seen those eyes before except they were in a picture.

"Back from the dead…" the ditzy blonde said under her breath two seats down from me.

Edward Cullen walked slowly up the stairs towards his seat. The seat that is right next to me. I looked closer at his face. He had a crease between his eyebrows that made him look worried. I noticed that that crease never seemed to straighten out. He was nervous. After having heard his story almost three weeks ago, I felt like I wanted to run down to him and scoop him up in a hug. _Bella, get a grip! He doesn't even know who you are!_

He walked down the row I was in and before he sat down he let out a heavy sigh. His eyes were focused on the blonde. He plopped down into his seat and closed his eyes while he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Welcome back to reality, _Edward_" I heard the blonde loudly whisper.

Who was this girl? Why was she trying to antagonize him? It was obvious that she knows him.

I could hear his slow breathing beside me. He just sat there holding the paper that Dr. Price had signed. It must have been an add slip. I chanced a glance in his direction just to find that he had his head slightly turned in my direction looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. Both of us quickly turned our heads back to the front to listen to the start of the class.

I had psychology three times a week. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I couldn't wait until Wednesday. I was determined to figure out this beautiful boy that had fallen from grace. _Did I just say beautiful?_

Wednesday finally came and I rushed to class to find that Edward was already there and in his seat.

I walked into the row and had to pass him to sit down. "Excuse me please" I whispered. He immediately shifted his legs so that I could get by.

We still had about ten minutes until class started. I was desperately trying to come up with a conversation starter. "Um…do you have any gum?" I asked feeling a blush creep up on my face for asking such a stupid question.

"No" he breathed.

"Oh, didn't you know that being the last student admitted in the class you have to provide gum to the person seated directly to the right of you upon request?" _Did I just say that? Just shut your mouth already Bella!_

He turned his head and looked at me like I was from Mars. The crease in his brow was still present.

Dr. Price started class at that moment. Half way through class, I tore a piece of paper out of my notebook and scribbled out a note and passed it to him. He took it and looked at me for a second before reading it.

_I'm usually not an idiot. I swear!_

I looked over at him and one corner of his mouth twitched and looked like he was going to smile that crooked smile that I had seen in the pictures. Wait…he was writing something.

_Don't worry about it. _

And with that I smiled.

Friday came and I was eager to get to class, but my math teacher decided to keep me behind for a few minutes because I had done so terribly on a pop quiz that we had taken the day before. I was five minutes late to psychology.

I ran in and rushed to my seat next to Edward hoping that attendance had not been taken yet.

I felt a nudge on my arm. I looked towards Edward. Edward was holding out his closed hand palm down. I looked at his waiting hand with curiosity. He looked at me and shook his hand slightly. I put my open palm out under his hand and he dropped a new pack of peppermint gum in my hand. I couldn't hold back my smile. I must have looked like a lunatic. Not only was I happy that he was responding to me, but I also had the attention of the most attractive guy I have ever laid eyes on.

Throughout the next few weeks we continued to write notes during the boring bits of the class. Edward was really funny. He would write jokes, and draw cartoons for me, and I would have to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from making a scene from laughing.

The ditzy blonde, Lauren was her name, kept giving me dirty looks all throughout the period.

One Friday after class, before I could get up, Edward caught my attention by grabbing my hand before I could stand. He immediately let go when I looked at him.

"Never mind" he said looking at the chair in front of him.

He must want to say something. How could I get it out of him? Our _relationship_ was only for an hour a day three times a week. Were we even friends?

"Would you like to…um…go with me to…get coffee or something?" I said, holding my breath until he replied.

"OK…sure"

We walked out of the giant building and headed over to the coffee hut that was in the middle of the courtyard. We ordered and when I reached in my bag for money he stopped me.

"I got it." And he handed the cashier some cash.

"Thanks"

We sat in silence for a few minutes and I warmed my hands on the cup. He wasn't looking at me, and I didn't know what to say to him.

He broke the silence. "Tell me about yourself Bella. What brings you to U-Dub?"

"There's not much to tell really. I'm from Forks, Washington. I moved here with one of my best friends. My other best friend moved here last year and is a sophomore." I didn't know how much to say. I didn't know if he had met Rose through Emmett or not. I wasn't sure if I should even tell him that I knew his family. I would tell him, but I wanted him to feel comfortable around me first. I mean, he didn't have a healthy relationship with them, and maybe if I said that I was friends with his brother he would shy away. I didn't want that. I didn't want that at all.

"Tell me about you Edward"

He looked up at me. The ever present crinkle in his brow intensified. "I just moved here…at the beginning of the term from…uh…my family lives here, I was just…um…" he started to look really uncomfortable and was running his hand through his already messy hair.

I decided to interrupt and change the subject. "My math class is really hard. I don't understand a thing. It is my worst subject. The teacher is not helpful at all. She thinks that by giving out pop quizzes every day it's going to help me. I have to know what's going on first before I can even consider a quiz." I rambled.

"Maybe I could help you out-"

"Would you really? I mean, if it's not too much trouble?"

"Sure. I only have two classes right now. Since I started late and all. I have time-"

"That would be great! What are you doing this weekend?"

"Um…no plans. Should we meet at the library?"

I could tell he didn't want me near his house, and if I wanted to keep it from him (for now anyway) that I didn't know his family, I needed to keep him away from Alice and Rose also.

On Saturday and Sunday Edward helped me try and make sense of my math book.

Edward is really smart. He was really good at math. Not that I'm surprised. Emmett had said that he was an excellent student at one time. I think that I actually understand some of this foreign language called math now.

"Bring it on Ms. Carter! I'm ready for your stupid quiz!" I announced walking out of the library with Edward. He was sporting his crooked grin. I hadn't seen the full blown smirk yet and my heart started beating rapidly in my chest when I did. _Did I have feelings for him? No, I couldn't. I hardly know him…_

What I did know of him was through the story Emmett had told us about him. Edward didn't seem anything like the boy Emmett described. Edward was sweet, helpful, courteous, and devastatingly handsome. _Cool it Bella…_

Were the stories all true? Why would Emmett lie about something like this? It wouldn't benefit him at all. Maybe some of it is true, but Emmett embellished on the story to make it sound worse than it is. It didn't make sense.

My inner ramblings were cut short when I felt Edward's hand wrap around mine and pull me to a quick stop. I looked up and saw a guy on a bike whoosh past me. My hair whipped across my face.

Edward chuckled and started to release my hand as we stepped off of the curb into the parking lot. I tightened my grip on his hand and slowly looked up at his face. He looked torn, internally trying to decipher my actions.

"Is this Ok?" I asked, praying that I had not gone too far. I knew he was fragile, and I didn't want to ruin what we had started.

The only reply I got from him was his hand lightly squeezing mine.


	4. Chapter 4

I got home and walked into the dorm room that I shared with Alice and dropped myself onto my bed.

"Well, well, well…" Alice started with her eyebrow arched. "What do we have here?"

"I don't know what you mean Alice" I said confused by the look on her face.

"You have been gone for hours, your face is flushed, and you have a 'hand in the cookie jar' kind of smile on your face. Where have you been and who were you with young lady?" she smirked.

"Seriously Alice, I don't know what you are talking about. I was studying in the library, I just came in from the cold, and I think that I may have the upper hand for the quiz tomorrow morning."

She was not convinced. What was I supposed to say? I met Emmett's dysfunctional brother and kind of have a 'thing' for him.

"Spill it Swan. I know that look. Who is it? And what have you been up to?"

"Ok, ok Alice. I may or may not have met someone at some point since school started, but I am reluctant to say anything else for fear of jinxing it." Would that be enough for her?

It wasn't.

"Bella! Why have you been keeping this from me? I need to know the details." She whined.

"Sorry Alice, that's all you get."

"Ok, but when Rose gets here with Emmett and Jasper, you are telling us the whole story."

Oh god. No, no, no, no! I can't divulge who he is. It would ruin everything.

Just then there was a loud knock on the door. "Well _hello_ ladies!" Emmett boomed as he entered our room.

"Hey guys!" Alice and I replied. We all exchanged hugs and everyone settled down on the sofa and chairs in the room.

"Bella has the 'hots' for some guy at schoo-ool." Alice sang.

Emmett grinned. "Ooh, when do we meet this mystery guy?"

I blushed. "I don't know. It might be a while. He's kinda shy." Please let it drop guys. _Please…_

"Anyway, speaking of mystery guys, what's it like with your brother being home Em?" Alice inquired. Little did she know that we were still talking about the same 'guy'.

"Uncomfortable for my parents, I guess" He started. "I haven't seen him since the day we picked him up from Olympia. I've been sort of avoiding the house. He didn't say much on the drive home. His hair is longer, and he seems to have been working out or something. He is still thin-ish but he has built up some muscle. I guess when you have the urge to fight someone everyday you'd have to bulk up."

"What do your parents think? I'm sure they must be happy to have him home." I said trying to subtly get more information about Edward.

"My dad says that he spends most of his time in his room or in the garage. They must have taught him some sort of _trade_ or something at that place. He all of a sudden is interested in fixing an old motorcycle that my dad bought years ago. I don't think that he had any knowledge of mechanics before. Plus I think that he wants some wheels. He doesn't have a car anymore and my dad makes him take the bus to school and anywhere else he might want to go."

"School?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, my dad enrolled him in a couple of classes. A friend at the college pulled some strings. Since being locked up Edward has been forced to see a shrink. One of my dad's friends is his therapist. He drove down to Olympia once a week to meet with Edward. Now that he's out he still has to meet with Dr. Price. I think my dad has Edward enrolled in one of the Doc's classes." Emmett continued.

Dr. Price is Edward's therapist? How awkward for him.

"If he's free from that place, why does he have to continue with the therapist?" Rose asked.

"Well technically Edward is still on probation. I think that he's got like three years left. Its part of his _parole_ I guess. If he screws up now he can be put in 'big boy' jail." Emmett scoffed.

"I don't think that is very funny." I said hoping that everyone's attention didn't turn to me.

"It's not Bella; I just don't know how to deal with it anymore." Emmett apologized. He looked truly saddened by it. "My mom told me that over the last week Edward seems to have come out of his 'funk' a little bit. He still doesn't talk to her, but she has caught him smiling when he thinks no one is looking, and he actually seems eager to go to school. Maybe a year and a half in that place has changed him. I still don't trust him though. He put our family through some hard times."

I wondered if our friendship had anything with his better mood. I doubted it. It must be something else. I did notice that the ever present crease in his brow had but almost disappeared. It would show back up when he seemed uneasy, or tried to talk to me about anything personal. Like his family.

"I think everything will work out. I can feel it." Alice declared. Rose and I looked at her and shook our heads. Another Alice prediction.

Monday came and I walked towards Psychology with some exciting news for Edward. We had had a quiz in math, and I think I aced it. As I got closer to the doors to the hall, I saw the blonde, who I now know is called Lauren, walking towards me.

Once she was standing in front of me she started. "Bella, is it?" I nodded. "_Sweetheart, _you should stay away from Edward. He's too much for a little girl like yourself to handle." She said patting my shoulder. "I should know. I knew Edward from high school. Leave him to a _woman _like me".

I shrugged off her condescending hand and started to walk around her. That's when I saw Edward standing just outside of the classroom door. He looked between Lauren and me and walked into the room. Maybe she was the reason that he looked happier at home. Maybe he had reconnected with an old girlfriend. My stomach hurt.

He didn't look at me at all during class. No notes, nothing.

After class I started to say something to Edward, but he cut me off…"Bella, I'm not a good friend for you." He quickly got up from his seat and headed out the door. I just sat there. I didn't know what to think. Did he think that Lauren had said something to me about him?

Wednesday came and Edward was not in class. Dr. Price kept glancing wearily up to our section with a frown on his face.

Edward was back on Friday, but didn't acknowledge me the entire class period. I decided to speak up. "Edward?" I started. He cut me off again. "Bella, I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but I don't think we should be friends." He said looking down at his feet before he left the room.

What had happened? Did I say something wrong? His mood and attitude changed so quickly since Sunday. Maybe he was too messed up in the head to make it in society, I rationalized. Maybe he had become _institutionalized_. You know when you've been in prison or a hospital and when you are free to get out you can't live in the real world and would rather stay inside? Was that his problem?

This was our relationship now. We would sit in class not looking at each other, and when class was over, we would both get up and leave.

On Saturday, three weeks since my last words to Edward, Emmett asked Rose, Alice, Jasper and I if we would come over to his parents' house for dinner. It had been two months since we were there last.

"My parents miss all of you and feel like they have abandoned you by not inviting you over." Emmett said.

"Ooh, will we meet your brother?" Alice asked her eyes wide.

"Maybe, but I doubt he'll make an appearance. Esme asked him to join us but he seemed reluctant to attend. If we are lucky, he won't be home."

"Don't say that Em. I would love to meet him." Rose said.

I, on the other hand, was with Emmett on this one. I hoped that Edward wouldn't be home.

It was a few hours until we were supposed to leave for the Cullens' house. I feigned illness. I couldn't make myself go over there. What if Edward _was_ home?

"Are you sure you'll be Ok? We don't have to go if you need us." Alice and Rose had both said.

"No. You two go ahead. I'm sure Esme will be disappointed if you don't go."

The four of them left at about five. I sat in the dorm feeling a little depressed. Then I decided to go out for a walk and get some dinner.

I pulled on my coat and headed out the door.

I walked across the campus to a deli that I had heard was supposed to be good.

I stepped inside and up to the counter and ordered. I then found a table in the corner and pulled out a book to read while I waited for my number to be called. "Hello…" a voice whispered behind me. I whipped my head around to find the saddest green eyes looking back at me.

"Hi. Would you like to join me?" I whispered back almost under my breath. He nodded and shifted his chair to join me at my table.

"I'm sorry about the last few weeks in class. I…" He sounded sincere.

"It's ok Edward. I understand. You have a thing with Lauren…" I trailed off.

"What? What are you talking about?" He looked angry.

"She kind of mentioned that I should stay away from you. I guess you have a jealous girlfriend on your hands." I laughed stupidly. Could he tell that it was fake?

"Bella, she is NOT my girlfriend!" He spat, his face red but not from embarrassment. "Will this _ever_ end?" He asked quietly to himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I've done some 'things' that I am not proud of…I have a past that…" He ran his hand through his hair. "…won't let me go."

He sat there with his forehead resting on his hand. Elbows on the table.

"Number 26?" a voice said over a loud speaker. I looked at Edward and then got up to fetch my food.

When I returned he was in the same position. I reached out and put my hand over the one of his that was resting on the table. He looked up at me through his eyelashes. "Whatever it is that's bothering you will work itself out." I said. "Just give it some time. I'll be here…if you want." I said hoping that he didn't stand and bolt out of here at my words.

We sat, ate our sandwiches and talked for over an hour. He was back to himself, well the 'himself' that I knew of anyway. I told him about the last few weeks in math, and how I had made it through a couple of quizzes with flying colors.

"If you need anymore help, I would gladly volunteer."

"I would like that."

Just then the shop's door opened with a bang.

"Cullen! What a surprise!" shouted a blonde boy that I didn't recognize. He was followed by the curly headed girl and Lauren. Both girls were sporting smug smiles.

Edward bolted upright standing his chair tipping back and falling back forward. His warm facial expression turned ice cold.

"Newton." He sneered. The look on Edward's face and the voice that came out of him frightened me a little. What was more upsetting was that he was standing with both of his hands in fists at his sides. He was ready for the fight.

"I'd like to thank you Cullen. If you hadn't been dumped into that cell, you may have given me a run for my money." Edward looked over at me for a brief second before turning back to this Newton person. "Everything fell into place after your disappearing act. So, high school valedictorian was handed to me on a silver platter, along with my full ride here." He said waving his hand around gesturing towards campus. "How was it anyway? Make any _boyfriends_ while you were in there? Did you take it in the a-" His words and laughter were cut short by my scream and Edward's fist connecting with his face.


	5. Chapter 5

"Mike!" The curly headed girl screamed. I still didn't know her name.

I just stood there unable to move. My hands covered my mouth.

Edward had shoved Mike against the window by our table. Mike's nose had blood running from it from the first strike. Mike pushed back and punched Edward's eye. He must have been wearing a ring because Edward now had a bleeding gash just above his eyebrow.

The whole restaurant was in a panic. Everyone was screaming, but the fists kept flying.

I've never seen a real life fist fight before. It was terrifying. Mostly because someone I cared about was getting hurt.

"I'm calling the police right now!" The manager of the restaurant yelled holding the phone to his ear.

Just then the campus security showed up and pulled Edward and Mike apart and brought them outside.

Edward was still struggling with the security guard. Mike just smiled and spit out some blood. "You never cease to amaze me Cullen. This was easier than I thought." Mike laughed spitting out more blood.

Both Edward and Mike were taken to the campus security center. Mike had told them that he was not going to press charges so the police call was cancelled.

I was sitting in the waiting area of the security offices when Lauren and her friend came in. "See Jess, by the look on Bella's face, she has no idea what she's gotten herself into."

Jess looked at me with pure hate in her eyes. "Your _friend_ better have not hurt Mike."

The door to the back offices opened and Mike walked out. His nose looked like it may have been broken. It seemed crooked, his left eye was bruised and half closed. Jess ran up and hugged him. "Let's get you to the hospital." Mike and both girls walked out.

I waited for Edward to come out.

And waited.

The security officer at the desk wouldn't tell me anything that was going on. Was he too injured to be released? No, they would have called an ambulance. Were the police coming to arrest him? It didn't seem like it. Wouldn't they be here by now? My mind was racing. Tears involuntarily started streaming down my face. It seemed like hours before something happened.

Dr. Price walked in through the front doors. He looked like he had been pulled away from a fancy dinner or something. He was wearing a very nice suit and tie. He didn't look mad. He looked more worried than anything.

He stepped up to the desk and told the officer that he was here to see Edward. The officer signed him in and ushered him through the door.

A few minutes later, Dr. Price stepped out into the waiting area. "Bella?"

"What's going on? Is Edward alright? Can I see him?" I cried.

"No Bella you can't see him. Not tonight. You should go home."

"…but?"

"I'll be taking Edward home. I'm sure he'll talk to you… when he's ready." He said putting a hand on my shoulder.

"You said that he's going home right? He's not getting put back…" I've let on that I know too much. I hoped that this didn't get back to Edward.

"No Bella, he's going home tonight. Don't worry. He'll be fine."

I took a deep breath and turned and headed out the door to go home.

When I got home I noticed that Alice was already in bed sleeping. I grabbed my P.J.s and went into the bathroom to take a shower. I stood under the spray until the water turned cold. By the time I dried off, got dressed, pulled a comb through my hair, it was well after 2am. I laid my head down and fell into a restless sleep.

"Wake up sleepyhead!" Alice chirped. She was standing next to my bed smiling.

"Al-ice, please let me sleep." I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. "Oh god! It's only 7am! It's Sunday Alice; I get to sleep in today!"

"Normally yes, but today we are going out with the Cullens' on their boat. Doesn't that sound exciting? You have to get up and ready. We're leaving in an hour."

"Their boat? Alice I can barely look at the ocean without throwing up. What makes you think that I could go out on a boat?"

"With these silly." She was holding out a packet of Dramamine.

"I'm not going. I still feel sick from last night, and I don't think that going out on a boat in the sea air will help things." I coughed. "My throat is still sore." Would she fall for it? I was a terrible liar.

She looked at me. Really looked at me. Could she tell that I was faking? "OK Bella, but we'll miss you today." I felt relieved.

Alice's phone rang. "Hello Rose, how are you? Uh-huh…Oh no!! What happened?" She listened for a few minutes until she spoke again. "Bella is still feeling sick…she's not coming with us. Are you sure they want to go still? Well if they're sure…" She listened a few more seconds and hung up.

"That was Rose. Emmett called to tell her that his brother had gotten himself in a fight last night. Can you believe it? He said that his parents still want us to go out with them but we wouldn't be leaving until 10am now. I guess they had to sort something out with campus security last night and didn't get to bed until after 4am! Crazy, huh?"

"Yeah…Crazy."

Emmett, Rose and Jasper came to pick up Alice at about 9am. They were meeting Carlisle and Esme at the docks at 10am. They were supposed to be gone until well after dark.

After dark. That's like over nine hours from now. I had a plan.

I quickly ate a bowl of cereal, brushed my teeth and hair, threw on some clothes and rushed out to my truck.

I parked to the side of the big white house. I got out of my truck and walked around to the front door. I rang the bell. Nothing. I rang it again.

Slowly the door opened and I gasped.

There stood Edward wearing jeans. No shirt. No shoes. Just jeans. I could see the waistband of his boxers sticking out around his waist. Emmett had said that he had been working out. It was obvious that he had. His chest muscles were very defined and his abs. _Oh my…_

It had only been a couple of seconds, but it felt like forever that I was staring at him in awe. I regained my composure and my eyes traveled from his body to his face. He looked like the doorbell had woken him up. His hair was sticking out everywhere and he had dark circles under his eyes.

The cut that he had gotten over his left eye was stitched closed and looked painful. His bottom lip on the right side was bruised and swollen. My eyes started to sting. I held back my tears.

"What are you doing here? How did you know where I lived?"

"Um…I wanted to see if you were Ok. Are you Ok? You had me worried last night and they wouldn't tell me anything and they wouldn't let me see you…"

He turned and walked into the house. "I'm fine" He left the front door open. I guess he wanted me to come in. So I did.

I followed him into the kitchen. "Wait a second." He said as he walked down a hall from the kitchen and into a room. He came back out moments later pulling a shirt over his head.

I leaned against the familiar counter. Edward sat down on a stool at the breakfast bar. He kept running his hand through his hair. He looked very uncomfortable.

He sighed. "I'm…sorry that you had to see me like that. I…"

"It's Ok Edward. I just want to understand. "Who is this Mike? Why do you hate him so much?" He was silent for several minutes before he sighed and began to talk.

"We met in the 4th grade. Believe it or not, Mike Newton and I were best friends. We were always at each other houses. Emmett was his friend too. Mike would always want to make a competition out of everything. 'Edward I can climb this tree faster than you',

'Edward, race you down to the flagpole and back', 'Edward, I bet I can drink this bottle of soda faster than you' and so on. He never let up. Most of the time I would win his stupid bets and he would sulk about it. You would think that if he lost enough times he would give up and stop making these dumb bets, but he didn't.

"When we reached high school we weren't really friends anymore, but the challenge was still there for him. Now the competition was all about school, well grades mostly. I couldn't help it. I tried even harder to beat him. Not because I _had_ to have the best GPA in the school, but I had to have a better GPA than him.

"At first it was just annoying. He was getting on my nerves. It actually started to wear on me, and I found myself resenting him for it. Our friendship, if you could still call it that, came to a screeching halt when Mike accused me of cheating off of him during a big test. He _wanted_ me to fail, or maybe worse, get thrown out of school. How could someone do that to a friend?

"The school even held a meeting about it. My parents were there and everything. My dad smoothed things over at the school, but people still looked at me like it was all true. The thing that hurt the most was that my parents questioned my honesty.

"What a jerk! How could he do that to you? I would have hit him too. If I see him again, he'd better watch out!" I said angrily.

He laughed. "Next time, I'll let you take care of him. Seriously Bella, don't make the same mistakes that I have." He looked at me with sadness in his eyes.

We walked back out to the living room. The 'lived in' living room. We sat on one of the couches. "Let me see." I said pulling his face towards me to better inspect the cut above his eye.

"My dad's a doctor. I'm pretty sure he did a good job." He chuckled. "But if you need to make sure, go ahead."

I looked at his stitches carefully. Then my eyes met his. We stared into each others eyes for what seemed like an hour. My hand was still on his face. I felt relieved to see that he was Ok. Not just physically but mentally too. Our faces were so close. I couldn't help myself. I leaned in closer and I kissed him softly on the lips and pulled away quickly once I realized what I'd done.

"Ow" He said smiling and touching his swollen lip.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…" I stammered, but was cut off. Edward had moved his hand from his lip to the side of my face, cupping my cheek. He leaned in to me and his soft lips met mine for the second time. My eyes slid closed.

The kiss was soft and gentle. His lips parted and I could feel his breath in my mouth. His tongue traced my bottom lip, and I opened my mouth in acceptance. As soon as he touched his tongue to mine I lost control. My hand that was on his face slid back and into his hair. My other hand that was resting at my side traveled up his chest and clutched his shirt pulling him to me. His one hand remained on my cheek while the other one slid around my waist and to the small of my back pressing me into him.

We broke apart suddenly gasping for air. My face was flushed. I looked up at him and he was smiling his beautiful crooked smile. He took my hand and laced his fingers with mine.

We sat there on the couch for the rest of the afternoon watching movies and talking. It was getting late, and I wanted to make sure that I was out of the house before his parents got home.

He walked me to my truck, and I got in. He kissed me again quickly before he shut my truck door.

I grinned like an idiot the whole drive home.


	6. Chapter 6

I got home to find Alice lying on the couch with her head in Jasper's lap. She had a damp washcloth draped over her forehead. She looked green. She opened her eyes and looked at me with a 'don't you dare say anything' look in her eye.

I chuckled. "How was your day Jasper?"

He looked down at Alice's face. "Fine. We had a nice time until we actually made it out into Puget Sound."

"What did you do today Bella? I thought you would be home when we got back." Alice asked.

"Um…I was feeling much better, and I went to grab something to eat." I lied. I wasn't going to be able to use the 'sick' excuse anymore.

"Well, I'm glad you are feeling better." She said.

I woke up Monday morning feeling good. No, not good, fantastic! I practically skipped to my classes.

I was walking into my math class when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around quickly to see a bandaged nose and a black eye looking at me.

"Nice to see you again, _Bella_." Mike said with a smile on his face. I didn't trust him for a minute.

"Hello, _Mike_." I sneered.

"I wanted to apologize to you. Our first meeting was a bit rough. You know Cullen is wound up pretty tight. I should know, I've known him for almost nine years. I know what makes him tick. You shouldn't hang out with a loser like him. It could get you in trouble."

"I don't know what you are talking about Mike. Just leave Edward alone. He doesn't need you lurking around causing problems for him."

"Ha! Me cause problems for him? Did you see him charge at me the other night? I thought he was going to try and rip my throat out!"

"Whatever"

"Look Bella, I want to make it up to you. Let me take you out. Show you a _good_ time. I don't think Cullen is capable. He's been locked up with a bunch of boys for the last year and a half. I'm thinking that maybe he has probably switched teams, if you know what I mean." He laughed.

"Mike, if you don't walk away from me right now I cannot guarantee your safety." I threatened.

"Whoa! Feisty. I like that." He smirked. "Do you want to know why I didn't press charges on Saturday?"

I didn't answer. Though I was curious.

"I missed playing my little games with Cullen. A new game has just begun, he just doesn't know about it yet."

"Look Mike, I don't know what you're talking about. Just leave us alone. I don't want you to have to get your nose reset." I turned and walked into my class.

All I could think about was what Mike had said. 'A new game' what did that mean? And why on Earth would he ask me out? It looked to me that Jess was his girlfriend. What a jackass.

I was early to Psychology and I waited outside for Edward.

"Miss Swan, can I speak with you for a moment?" a voice from behind me asked.

I turned to see Dr. Price. "Yeah, sure."

We walked down the hallway from the class and into his office. "Miss Swan, I know that you have been spending time with Edward Cullen, and I wanted to talk to you about that."

"Ok"

"I can't really elaborate on what I'm going to say and I hope you can understand what I'm getting at. I don't know how much Edward has told you of his past. He is coming out of a tough time in his life, and I just wanted to let you know that your friendship will be very helpful in his recovery. Unfortunately you had a small glimpse of where he can go if he doesn't have the support of friends and family. I just want you to be careful."

"I understand Dr. Price. I really care about Edward, and I hope he can see that. I want to be there for him, if he'll let me."

"Thank you Bella. Let's get to class"

I walked back down the hall and into the classroom. Edward was sitting in his seat waiting for me. When he saw me enter the room, he smiled his crooked grin for me.

I took my seat next to him. "Hey" I whispered.

"Hey" he breathed before he took my hand.

We walked out of class and into the cool air. We were headed for the library. Edward was going to help me with my math homework again. We sat down at a table near the back. I had my book out and Edward was explaining the assignment to me. Every couple of minutes he would lean into me and kiss my temple or play with my hair. I was too distracted to even hear what he was saying to me.

"Do you know that I haven't heard a word that you are saying?" I giggled. "You are distracting me too much."

"Sorry, I'll keep my hands to myself then." He snickered. Leaning away from me and folding his hands on the table in front of him.

I jutted my lip out, and let out an audible 'Humph'.

"We aren't getting anywhere today." He stood and started packing up my books into my backpack. "Let's get out of here."

We walked out of the library and out to my truck. Edward threw my backpack into the cab and shut the door. "Hey, I thought that we were going somewhere." I said looking at him curiously.

"We are." He said leading me to another part of the parking lot.

We walked up to a black motorcycle, and Edward was grinning from ear to ear. "I've been working on fixing this thing for over a month. It's finally finished. Would you like to go for a ride?" I nodded.

He straddled the bike and handed me a helmet while he put one on himself. I swung my leg over the seat behind him. Edward kick started the bike and it roared to life. "Hold on." He said.

I placed my hands on either side of his waist. "Ready!" I yelled over the engine. He took hold of my wrists and pulled them tighter around him so that my hands could touch each other and took off out of the parking lot. I hugged on to him tighter.

The Seattle weather was dry today, but it was still a little cold to be out riding a motorcycle. Luckily I had worn a sweater under my coat.

We rode around the city streets for a while and then came back to where my truck was parked.

"God Bella your teeth are chattering. I'm sorry; I didn't know that you were so cold."

I was freezing. I'm sure that my lips were blue. Edward put his arms around me and walked me to my truck. We got inside and he started it up, putting the heater on full blast.

"I'll drive you home. You know, I don't have any idea where you live."

"Oh…um…I live in the dorms on the other side of campus." I didn't know what to do. Would he suspect something's up if I refused to let him take me home? Alice may not even be home yet. She had been spending a lot of time over at Jasper's lately. Maybe luck would be on my side and she wouldn't be there.

We pulled up to my dorm and parked the truck. When I got out I scanned the parking lot for Alice's car. Safe.

I took Edward by the hand and led him in the dorm. We sat on the couch and Edward pulled the blanket off of the back to wrap around me, and then wrapping his arms around me too. I leaned into him and laid my head on his shoulder.

I must have fallen asleep because I opened my eyes to find that it was now dark outside. I glanced at the clock and it read 1:30am. I sat up to find that Edward had fallen asleep next to me.

He woke with a start. Confused as to where he was. "What time is it?"

"It's 1:30 in the morning" I replied sleepily. Edward just groaned.

"I'm going to be in a lot of trouble when I get home." He said with his eyes closed and his head leaning back on the couch. "I sort of have a curfew after what happened Saturday night. I'd better get going."

I walked him to the door and snaked my arms around his waist hugging him close. He returned the favor. "I'm sorry that you will be in trouble." I said into his chest.

"I will be fine. Don't worry about me." He said before kissing the top of my head.

I raised my head off of his chest and looked in his face. His eyes met mine and he brought his lips down to meet mine.

"Goodnight." I whispered after the kiss.

"Goodnight Bella. I will see you…" He chuckled. "…later today I guess."

I closed the door behind him and sighed against it. After my 'moment' I pushed off the door and made my way to my room.

I noticed that Alice's door was closed. Had it been closed before?

My alarm went off at exactly 7am. I groaned into my pillow before pulling myself out of my bed.

I gathered up the clothes that I wanted to wear today and walked out of my room and headed to the bathroom.

"Someone has some explaining to do."

I whipped my head towards the living area. I walked slowly over to the couch and found Alice lying back with her feet on the armrest covered in the blanket that Edward and I had used the night before.

"This…" she said holding the blanket to her nose "…smells like a boy."

I just looked at her with panic in my eyes and my mouth agape.

"Bella, Bella, Bella…I came home last night to find you cuddled up with some guy on the couch. Is this the smell of your mystery man?"

"Y-yeah" I stuttered. "We came back here after our study session in the library."

"Hmm…well you'll have to bring him over so that we can all meet him. You know, so we can see if he's good enough for our Ms. Swan here." She said gesturing to me.

"I don't know Alice. I know how overwhelming you guys can be. I don't think that he will like the attention."

"Come on, we'll be nice. All I got to see of him was the top of his head. Does that boy own a comb?" she laughed. It was true Edward's hair was always in'perfect' disarray.

"We'll see Alice." I said just to appease her, and headed off to the bathroom for a shower.

As I washed my hair I was thinking about Edward and how I was going to tell him my secret. I needed to do it soon. It would only get harder to tell him if I waited much longer. I didn't want to hurt him, but I knew deep down that it would.

I decided to tell him over the Thanksgiving break that was in one week. Rose and Emmett were getting pretty serious and she was taking him, Carlisle and Esme home to meet her parents. Alice jumped on the bandwagon and decided to invite Jasper to her home. My dad, Charlie had to work over the entire weekend because they were short staffed at the police station so I wouldn't get to spend time with him. So I told everyone that I really needed to study hard for the finals that were approaching and was going to stay home. They gave me a hard time about it, but I won out in the end.

Everyone was leaving Wednesday after their classes. I would have from Wednesday night until Sunday late afternoon to figure a way to tell him.

This was proving to be the most difficult thing that I have ever had to do in my life.


	7. Chapter 7

Wednesday rolled around and I was sitting in class with Edward. He was holding my hand in his lap and playing with my fingers.

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" I asked when class was over.

"Nothing. My family is heading out of town to visit friends. I didn't want to go so I'm staying here."

"Would you like to spend it with me then? My dad is working the whole weekend and my mother lives in Florida. I'm just going to be hanging out around here."

"I would love nothing more then to spend Thanksgiving with you." He lifted my hand and kissed it.

It was quiet that night with Alice gone. It gave me too much time to worry about what I was going to say and what his response was going to be. I barely slept.

Morning came and I was overpowered with a case of nerves.

I didn't have to tell him _today_, I kept telling myself. It just had to be before Sunday afternoon.

I hopped in my truck and headed to the Cullens'. I drove slowly trying to prepare myself for what was coming. _How do I get myself into these situations?_

I walked up the steps to the house and raised my finger to push the bell and the door swung open.

Edward scooped me up in a hug and brought me into the house. "I'm so glad you're here!" He said placing a quick kiss on my lips.

My hands slid into his hair and pulled his lips back to mine. His arms tightened around my waist and brought me closer to his body.

We broke apart and he put his forehead to mine. "Bella?" He said breathless.

"Yes?"

"What do you want for dinner?" he said with a smirk and kissed my forehead.

"I have an idea." I said and took his hand and led him out to my truck. "Get in."

This was something that I had never done before. I had always been home for Thanksgiving or went to Florida to see my mom.

We pulled into the parking lot and Edward looked at me and laughed. "Seriously?"

We walked into "Dennys" and actually had to wait to be seated. Who knew that there would be so many people in here, on a holiday no less?

We got our table and ordered the Thanksgiving turkey dinner that they had on special for the night. The whole time Edward just kept shaking his head.

"What? There are people in this world that can't cook." I said with a serious look on my face, but I couldn't hold it. "This _is_ ridiculous isn't it?"

Edward reached his hand across the table and placed it over mine. "This is the best Thanksgiving I've ever had." He said with a smirk.

I just rolled my eyes.

On the way back to the Cullen house, we decided to hit up 7/11 and get some junk food. Edward said that his mom never bought any _good food_ at the grocery store because Emmett would just sit and eat it all. Apparently Emmett had a weight problem as a child. I couldn't wait to use this information on him once Edward and I were 'out in the open'.

We were sitting on the floor in the living room, after I had consumed too much sugar and could not sit still for one more second, I jumped up and ran over to the piano that was sitting in the corner of the room and pulled off the cover that was over it.

I sat down on the bench and started a horrible rendition of 'Chopsticks' when I felt two warm hands cover mine halting my movements.

"Bella, please stop torturing this poor piano." I couldn't help but laugh at the pitiful look he was giving the piano.

"I know another song. Hold on, let me remember how it goes…" I said while testing out the keys to see if I could remember.

"Jesus. 'Heart & Soul', really?" I nodded. It almost looked like he was in pain.

"Scoot over." He said trying to protect the instrument from anymore abuse.

He looked at me for a few seconds before he placed his hands on the keys. The look on his face was…indecision, I think. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and started to play.

I almost fell off the bench. It was beautiful. I just sat in wonder until he finished playing, and the last note cleared the air.

"Claire de Lune…" I whispered to myself.

He turned to face me with the biggest grin. "You know Debussy?"

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites."

"Mine too." And then I realized something.

"Edward, you don't even have any sheet music!" I noticed. "You played that by memory only?" I was impressed.

"I told you it was one of my favorites." I'm surprised he didn't add a 'duh' after it.

He played a little more, but stopped when I started to make, what he called 'saloon' requests, like the 'Entertainer". I didn't see what the problem was, but he would roll his eyes and shake his head like it was the worst thing ever imaginable.

He got up and took my hand to make me follow, and pulled me up the stairs.

Then we reached the room at the end of the hall. Edward's room. The room that was not on Emmett's initial tour of the house.

He opened the door and pulled me in. One of the walls was just a giant window. Another wall was shelves and shelves of CDs with a very impressive stereo system built into it. There was a black leather couch and then there was his bed. He had his own bathroom and a huge walk-in closet.

He walked in and plopped himself down on the couch. "Look around and find a CD to listen to. I can't continue the show from downstairs and still be respected in the music community." He snorted.

"I don't even know where to start." I said staring at all of the available choices. I found a CD of my liking and put it in the player. Edward used the remote to make it start. I couldn't figure out the controls on the console. I sat down by him on the couch and yawned and put my head on his shoulder. "It's getting late. I should head home."

"You don't have to! I mean, we have a guest room. You can stay the weekend…if…you know…you want to." He looked alarmed at his sudden outburst.

"Um…Ok…we could go to my house in the morning and I could get some clothes and stuff. I guess I could just sleep in this." I said gesturing to my current apparel.

"I'm sure we have something around here that you could wear tonight." He said as he walked into his closet.

He came out with a t-shirt in one hand and some shorts in the other.

I stood and walked over to collect the clothes. "I think that these will do, thanks." And I walked into the bathroom to change.

I pulled his t-shirt over my head and was overwhelmed with his scent. The shirt smelled so good. He smelled so good.

I came out of the bathroom to find Edward had changed also. He was now wearing a dark grey t-shirt and navy blue pajama pants.

I smiled. He was really letting his guard down tonight. I was still giddy inside over the whole piano show. But then I was consumed with dread over the inevitable conversation that I was going to have to have before the end of the weekend.

He noticed the change in my expression. "Are you Ok? You don't have to stay if you don't want to. My feelings won't be hurt or anything." He assured me.

"No, No. I'm fine. I was just thinking that I would like to stay in here, with you, tonight if that's Ok. I just want to be close to you." I did want to stay in here with him. This could easily be the last few days that I would be around him. I was going to lose him before our weekend was up.

"I'd like it if you stayed with me." He said looking down at the floor. "Are you ready to go to sleep?"

"Uh huh."

I climbed into the bed and melted into the softness of it.

He walked around to the other side and pulled up the covers to get in. He looked nervous. I was freaking him out, I think. He reached over and turned the light off.

We laid there facing each other for a few minutes not talking. I reached out and pushed his hair out of his face and left my hand on his cheek. He put his own hand over mine and turned his face and kissed my palm.

I scooted closer and he wrapped his arms around me. I snuggled up under his chin and let sleep take over.

The next morning I was woken up by Edward humming and running his fingers lazily through my hair. I smiled at the sensation.

"Good morning…" I said as I stretched and put my arm around his torso.

"Good morning. Would you like me to make breakfast for you?"

"_You_ cook?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Just because I'm a guy doesn't mean that I can't cook. Geez, give me some credit." He said with mock hurt.

"Ok then. Bacon and eggs…no, wait…pancakes! No, French toast, yeah French toast."

"Um…I may have…possibly…Ok you got me. I really can only make one thing. I didn't think that you would list off every breakfast food known to man!"

"Hmm…you were trying to trick me. I see how it is. Well, what can you make?"

"Omelets. That is if we actually have all of the ingredients." He chuckled and brought out that crooked grin.

"Edward Cullen! You are something else mister." I scolded him and playfully hit him in the chest.

I got out of bed and changed back into my clothes from yesterday in the bathroom. I found a comb in one of the drawers and laughed to myself thinking of Alice's comment. I tried to straighten out my tangled hair and decided to just put it up in a loose pony tail.

When I came out, Edward was just walking out of his closet in a fresh set of clothes. "Shall we?" He said holding out his hand to me. I gladly took it and we walk down to the kitchen.

"I guess we should actually call this meal brunch since it is almost noon." He stated while rummaging through the fridge.

Luckily for me, and Edward for that matter, the kitchen held the ingredients needed to prepare Edward's omelets. He immediately began cooking. I watched and was impressed by how serious he was over cooking these things. Once finished he slid mine onto a plate and placed it in front of me. It was good.

After we finished eating I picked up the plates and put them in the sink. "That was actually pretty good for a boy." I teased.

"Seriously Bella, you are wounding my ego." He pouted.

I walked over and put my arms around him. I let go after a few minutes and went to the sink and started running water to clean the dishes. I filled the sink up half way with soapy water and started to clean up the dirty plates.

He was leaning up against the counter watching me. "Aren't you going to help?" I said. "You are really going to make me, a guest, clean all of the dishes?"

"Yep." Was all he said with a smug look on his face. I couldn't help it. I reached into the soapy water and scooped up some of the suds and flicked them at him.

He stood up strait with his hands on his hips staring me in the eye. He reached for the spray hose in the sink and held it out in front of me without breaking eye contact.

"I'm not afraid of you." I stated still looking him in the eye.

"You really shouldn't have said that." He said stepping towards me with the hose with an amused smile playing on his lips.

"You wouldn't dare…" I glared at him. And he did.

I shrieked and ran from the kitchen. Before I reached the living room I turned back facing the kitchen to see if he had followed.

He came jogging around the corner with a stupid grin on his face.

I was walking backwards slowly keeping an eye on him in case he had something up his sleeve. When he stopped dead in his tracks and his face fell and went to stone. "Wha-"I started, but I was cut off.

"Bella? What are you doing here?" A familiar voice said.

I whipped my head around to find a confused Carlisle and Esme standing not 6 feet away from me. Why are they here? It was only Friday!

"I...uh..." I turned my attention back to what mattered most. Edward.

He was looking between me and his parents. The blank look on his face turned to confusion and then to disgust in a blink of an eye.

"Edward, please…" was all I could get out before he turned quickly and stormed back towards the kitchen. I heard glass breaking, a loud thud and a string of expletives.

The back door slammed. I started crying. I heard the sound of a motorcycle starting and speeding away.

I walked slowly towards the kitchen. There was broken glass all over the floor. It had to have been the glasses that we had just used at breakfast. The glass was mixed with the remains of our orange juice.

The wall that was next to the back door had a hole in the drywall the size of Edward's fist.

I leaned my forehead against the window on the back door.

"What have I done?"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: You guys are great with the reviews. Thanks so much for the support!**

I ran from the house with tears streaming down my face. I jumped in my truck and sped off towards the dorms.

I ran inside and secluded myself into my room for the remainder of the weekend.

I was curled up into a ball on my bed when I felt a small hand on my shoulder and another on my lower leg.

I turned my head to see Alice and Rose sitting on the edge of my bed. Both of them trying to soothe me.

"We heard what happened. Well, sort of." Alice said. "We don't know the details. I mean, nobody does. Everyone is a little confused, I guess."

"Bella, what _is_going on?" Rose asked. "Emmett got a call from Carlisle saying that you had been at the house with Edward, and that something happened between you two. He said that you had left so fast, he didn't get any information out of you."

"Just leave me alone, please." I begged. "I can't talk about it right now."

"You _will_ talk about it _right now_!" Rose demanded. "This involves _all_ of us."

She sounded pissed.

"Fine!" I yelled sitting up on the bed. "I met Edward at school. We became friends. I lied to him, and now he hates me! Are you happy now?"

They both looked at me like I had a third eye or something.

Then there was a knock at the door. Emmett.

"I swear to God Bella, if my asshole of a brother did anything to you, brother or not, I will kill him!" Emmett shouted. "When they find him, he's dead!"

Wait. What?

"What do you mean, _'when they find him'_?"

"He hasn't come home yet." Emmett said with a shrug of his shoulders.

I was in full panic mode now. "This is all my fault! I knew this would end badly! What if he never comes home? What if he's hurt? My God, we have to find him!" My breathing was coming in gasps. I stood up and walked out to the living area.

"You need to calm down; you're going to pass out." Alice said while she was rubbing my back.

I shook my head. "Calm down! I can't calm down! Edward is missing and you all act like it's no big deal!" My heart was pounding in my chest.

I can't breathe.

I can't…

"Bella?" I heard my name being called, but it sounded like I was in a tunnel.

"Is she Ok?" I heard Alice say. "I don't think she hit her head on anything."

I opened my eyes to find Carlisle looking at me closely. His hands on my wrist and on my forehead.

"There you are. You're going to be fine." His voice calm.

I was lying on the couch covered in mine and Edward's blanket. It still smelled like him. I started crying again.

They stopped asking me questions after that. Every time they would bring up the subject, I would get hysterical.

I tried to focus on school. Finals were coming up and I needed to study. My mind, though, was always thinking of something else.

Class on Monday. No Edward.

Wednesday. No Edward.

Friday. Class started, and I again searched for Edward. Waiting in hopes that he would resurface today. Nope.

About 15 minutes into class, I felt a wave of panic hit me. I bolted out of the classroom and out to the fresh air. I kept taking deep breaths, willing myself not to pass out again.

A few minutes later I was not alone. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see who was with me.

Dr. Price.

He gestured for me to follow him to his office. I did.

I sat in one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. He leaned against his desk facing me.

"How have you been holding up?" He asked me. "Have you heard from Edward at all?"

I looked up into his face. Was he kidding? He must not have known what has caused Edward's disappearance. "No, I haven't."

"Bella, can you please explain to me what happened on Friday? This will be between you and me. I need to know what triggered Edward to leave so abruptly."

I felt guilty. "I kind of didn't tell him that I knew his family. He didn't know that I know about him." I was looking down at my feet. "And then his parents came home and…" I couldn't finish my sentence. I was sobbing too much.

"Oh, Bella. All of this is not your fault. Edward has been in a fragile state since he's been home. He has a lot to work out for himself."

"I'm so sorry. I know that I have probably ruined any progress that you have started in your sessions with him. We just need to find him."

"Do you have any ideas as to where he would go?"

"Not at all. He has never spoken of what he does outside of school or his home." I said.

"If you think of anything, call me at any time." He said as he handed me his card. "My private number is listed on there. Call at any hour. Call if you just need someone to talk to." He smiled.

"Ok, and please call me if you hear anything." I ripped a piece of paper out of my notebook and scribbled my cell number on it before handing it to him.

"I will." He said and walked me to the door.

The weekend passed in a blur of studying and worrying. I would find myself tearing up at the thought of Edward and where he might be.

Rose and Alice were pretty understanding once I told them the whole story. Emmett, however, was still under the impression that Edward was the one to blame. He couldn't let it go.

I fell into a restless sleep on Tuesday night. I was dreaming I was running through a forest after Edward. He would duck behind a tree or bush just as I would catch up with him. I was running but stopped dead in my tracks when my ears started to ring and I put my hands up to cover them. Ring, ring, ring…

I woke up screaming. "Stop!" But the ringing continued. I looked around and found my cell phone ringing on my nightstand.

It was Rose. I looked at the clock. 4am. "Hello?"

"Bella, they've found him." Relief flooded my system. _'They've found him'_ the best words I could ever hear. "Emmett just called me."

"Where is he? Is he Ok?" I almost yelled while I was searching for my shoes. "Please Rose." I pleaded. "Is.He.OK?"

"All I know is that he's at the hospital Carlisle works at. I don't know where he was found or what his condition is. The family is on their way over there how. Emmett was in the car when he called me."

"Thanks Rose. I've got to go." Where are my shoes?

I grabbed my sweatshirt to throw over my tank top and pajama pants once I finally found my shoes.

I ran out to my truck and started the engine. I sped off towards the hospital.

The hospital was quiet when I got there. I went to an information desk on the entry level.

"Can I help you?" The elderly woman at the desk asked me.

"Um…yeah. A friend of mine was just brought in this morning. I need to know where to find him."

"Name of the patient."

"Edward Cullen." She looked up at me and back to her computer. "I'm sorry. On request of the family he is not allowed any visitors. He has not even been assigned a room yet. Come back at visiting hours, and maybe you can see him."

"No. You don't understand. I have to see him _now_."

"I understand completely dear, but you are still not allowed to see him at this time."

"You have got to be kidding me!" I said raising my voice. "Page Dr. Cullen. I'll wait."

"Honey…"

"PAGE HIM!" I yelled.

A few minutes later I heard the page over the hospital loudspeaker. _'Paging Dr. Cullen to the admitting desk on the lower level'_

I sat in the waiting area with my knees pulled up to my chest and my arms wrapped around them.

Fifteen minutes passed and I was about to get the old lady to page him again when I saw Dr. Cullen emerge from the elevator.

"Bella honey you shouldn't be here." He said with a sad look in his eyes. "You don't want to see this."

"I have to. It's all my fault he's here in the first place."

He looked torn on what to do.

"I need to see for myself that he is Ok. Then I'll leave. I promise. _Please_." I was begging.

"Follow me, but I have to warn you, you will not like what you see."

We got in the elevator and went up three levels to the ER. This hospital was settled on a hillside and the third level of the building was actually the first floor from the back.

There were a few nurses and doctors in the hallways. The ER must have been slow this morning. Every now and again someone would greet Dr. Cullen with a handshake or nod of the head. This was the hospital that he worked at after all.

Carlisle explained to me that Edward had been picked up by the police at a pool hall downtown. He had had a lot to drink and there had been a huge fight with several customers involved. That's when the police got called in. Edward was carrying a fake ID on him and it had taken the police several hours to figure out who he was. Once he had been brought into the hospital he was recognized by one of the nurses, and that's when Carlisle had been contacted.

We walked through a couple of sets of double doors when I heard him. Edward.

"GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF ME! LET GO OF ME NOW!"

Esme and Emmett were standing in the hall outside of one of the examination rooms backed against the wall. Tears in their eyes.

From what I could see from where I was, the room was the type that you'd see on TV where they would roll in a patient and all of the doctors could be in there working on them. It had a big doorway with swinging doors and windows on either side. Inside however, the curtain was drawn to split the room in half. Edward was on the other side of that curtain, and he was obviously not happy.

"I SWEAR TO FUCKING CHRIST IF YOU DON'T RELEASE ME...!"

I walked to where Esme and Emmett were standing and looked into the room.

They had Edward on a bed and had his hands tied down in leather cuffs. They also had straps over his legs so that he could barely move. His shoes had been removed and his shirt was off.

He was straining against the bindings and had a look of rage on his red face.

The cut that had been healing above his eyebrow had been reopened and was bleeding down his face, but the thing that upset me the most was the bruise that was forming along his side. It went from his armpit almost to the waistband of his jeans. It looked very painful, but he didn't seem to notice.

Carlisle had already walked into the room while I was standing there in shock.

Edward had quieted, but was still struggling to get loose.

"Relax son. You will not be released until you can calm down." Carlisle said in a relaxing voice.

That just set Edward off even more. He started yelling again, but towards Carlisle this time.

Carlisle motioned to the other doctor in the room. The doctor went to a cabinet and withdrew a syringe and a bottle of medicine. Once the syringe was filled he proceeded to inject the substance into Edward's arm. Edward howled his complaints but seconds after the needle was removed his eyes drooped. They had sedated him.

I turned and hugged Esme. She returned the gesture and put her arms around me.

Emmett walked down the hall and out the door.

Esme released me and went to talk to Carlisle.

The other doctor and the nurse that had been in Edward's room had filed out to attend to other patients.

Edward was left alone. Knocked out.

I slowly pushed the door to the room open and stepped inside.

I went up to the bed and sat on the edge.

Edward's face had gone back to his original color, and he looked peaceful. He was still breathing heavily from over exerting himself.

I reached out and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "I'm so sorry." I whispered to him. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Please forgive me." Tears started rolling down my cheeks.

The nurse came back in and looked at me sympathetically. She started cleaning up his face to prepare for him to be re-stitched up. "A doctor will be in in a minute. You will have to leave while he stitches him up. Then he will be taken to x-ray to see what's going on under that bruise." I nodded my head, and she left after that.

Soon after a doctor that I hadn't seen yet came in with a tray of instruments for suturing.

I leaned down to Edward's sleeping face and kissed his forehead. "I'll check on you when they are done."

I got up and walked past Carlisle and Esme who were now talking to Dr. Price and walked out to the waiting area.

I sat in one of the chairs and put my face in my hands. I was trying to calm myself. I didn't want to go into hysterics again.

About a half an hour later I felt someone sit down beside me. Esme.

I looked over to her and was met with warm, but teary eyes.

"I'm so sorry Esme. I'm so stupid. I'm sorry."

She started to speak, but it was almost to herself and not to me.

"Edward was always a good boy. Very polite, very loving. Smart…so smart, and talented. I miss my son so much.

"We lost him somehow when he was 15 going on 16. I still to this day do not know what went wrong. He stopped talking to us. He wouldn't let us into his life anymore. It hurt us so much. Especially his brother. That's why Emmett tries to act indifferent about Edward, or just mad.

"When Edward came home to us a few months ago he was still just as distant as he was before. Maybe even more. He had been home for a few weeks and I noticed a change in him.

"He would walk through the house with a small smile, but would hide it if he caught any of us looking at him. He still didn't talk to us, but we were happy to see his interest in school. He complained before the first day and we knew that we would have a hard time getting him go.

"That's the funny thing though, he practically ran out of the house to get there after the first day.

"About a month and a half from the start of school I came home unexpectedly from my garden club meeting because I had forgotten to bring something. I walked in through the back door and heard music playing. At first I thought that Edward had a CD on in the living room, but as I walked out of the kitchen quietly I found him sitting at his piano playing softly. I left without saying anything, but when I got home that evening I noticed that he had recovered the piano like he had never touched it.

"He was changing. For the better. Do you know why?" She looked at me then waiting for a response.

I shook my head. "No."

"It was because of you. _You_ were changing him. I know this now because I know when you came into his life."

"Even if that is true, I've ruined it now. I'm so sorry for what I've done. He probably won't ever talk to me again."

"Bella. You have to try." She was pleading with me. "You have to bring my baby back to me."


	9. Chapter 9

I thought about what Esme had said.

She felt that my presence in Edward's life had somehow started to reform him.

I didn't even know if he would let me see him again. Let alone talk to me. But I had to try. It's the least I could do for his family.

I had really screwed things up.

I was standing in the women's restroom at the hospital staring at myself in the mirror.

"Ok" I said to myself. "You're going to fix this."

I walked shakily towards the room that had been assigned to Edward.

They wanted to keep him for a day or two to assess his situation.

During the 'pool hall' fight, he had been punched or kicked in the side under his arm. The x-ray had shown a hairline fracture in one of his ribs. Nothing serious, but they wanted to make sure that he wasn't bleeding internally or something from the injury.

At this point I didn't know if they had removed the restraints from Edward's arms and legs. I was going to find out now.

I walked into Edward's room. The curtain had been drawn to block Edward's side of the room from view.

I slowly stepped around the curtain.

Edward had indeed been released from his restraints. He was laying still with one of his arms over his face, the crook of his elbow over his eyes.

I just stood there watching him breathe slowly in and out.

"I know you're there." He said with no emotion. "Just get the hell out."

I just stood there frozen. He didn't even raise his arm to look at me.

"Did you hear me? GET OUT!"

I turned and ran. I ran all the way outside to my truck and got in before I started crying.

It was official. Edward Cullen hated me.

I was back to school later that day. I didn't feel up to it, but with finals looming just around the corner, I couldn't afford to skip class.

I had heard through Emmett that the hospital had released Edward after two days and that he was home now, and that he was healing up fine. He mostly stayed in his room. Esme would bring up food for him and leave it on his desk.

I don't know where it came from, but I got an idea.

"Emmett" I said when he picked up the phone. "I need you to get your parents to invite us over for dinner again."

"I don't think that that is such a good idea Bella." He warned. "Edward will be here."

"I know, that's what I'm counting on." I replied sounding smug with my new confidence.

Carlisle seemed reluctant to invite us, but Esme seemed thrilled once she had heard it was my idea.

We all piled out of Emmett's Jeep and headed into the house.

"Something smells good Mom!" Emmett shouted as we walked further into the house.

Esme appeared from the kitchen smiling.

I ran up to her and hugged her tightly. "Thanks for inviting us."

"It's good to have you dear." She said with her eyes smiling.

We all sat down to eat, minus Edward of course, and started to talk about our day.

We finished our meal and brought the dirty dishes into the kitchen. Everyone started to retreat into the living room. I looked back to see Esme start to put food on a plate and fill a glass with iced tea.

"Esme? What do you think you're doing?" I asked.

"I'm just fixing up a plate to take to Edward." She said. "I usually bring it up to him sooner. He's probably wondering where I am."

I stopped her hands from moving as she was putting silverware on the tray. "You are not taking this to him. If he's hungry he can come down and get his own dinner. You baby him too much."

She looked stunned at what I had said. I nodded my head to her. She understood immediately and started to dump off the food into the bin.

The Cullens' started inviting us over weekly from that point on. Sometimes twice a week. I knew that this would be the only way I would get the chance to possibly run into Edward since he wasn't coming to class anymore.

After weeks of preparation, finals were over. I don't think I did too bad considering my mental state over the last few weeks. The only class I think I may have done poorly in was math. I didn't have my tutor available to me anymore.

We were sitting around the table during dinner one night just talking about the end of the semester and what everybody was doing over Christmas break.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure walk past the dining room door and into the kitchen.

"I'm going to grab another Coke. Anyone want anything?" I said standing and taking a step toward the kitchen.

"No, we're fine Honey. Let me get it for you." Esme said halfway out of her chair.

"Esme, please enjoy the company. I'll be right back."

I walked slowly into the kitchen. Edward was standing at the fridge with his back to me. He was running his hand through his hair.

I walked over to him and reached into the fridge and grabbed a Coke from the bottom shelf.

He flinched away from me and it made me sorry for what I was about to do.

"Edward." I said coldly.

He glared at me through narrowed eyes, but didn't say anything.

I glared back with just as much intensity. But I could feel my resolve weakening.

You can do this Bella. I said to myself. You can't walk around on eggshells around him like everyone else.

"You have something of mine and I want it back." I told him devoid of emotion.

He did have something of mine. I had left my zip up jacket here in his room. I had left so suddenly that time that I didn't run up and get it before I left.

He just stared at me.

"_Hello? Are you there?"_ I said waving my hand in front of his face using as much sarcasm as I could.

I could swear I heard him growl. This is exactly what I wanted. No not wanted, needed.

"Will you get it for me?" I asked with raised eyebrows. Nothing.

"Fine, I'll get it myself." And I turned on my heal and headed out of the kitchen.

I was walking quickly with Edward hot on my tail. As I passed the dining room doorway I turned my head to see six people looking at me with their mouths open.

I stormed up the stairs and down the hall to his room. I reached for the doorknob and I felt a hand grip my wrist.

I whipped my body around to face him and ripped my arm out of his grasp. "What is your problem? Stop being a jerk and let me get my jacket!"

He still hadn't said a word, but I could tell I was getting to him. He was breathing faster and his face was flushed.

I turned back around and swung the door open.

His once clean room was destroyed. Clothes and towels everywhere, empty soda cans sitting on every flat surface, even his bed was a mess. The blankets and sheets were all twisted up and pulled from the corners.

As I studied the bed I noticed the sleeve of my jacket sticking out from under the pillows. I smirked inwardly. This may not be as difficult as I thought.

"Well? Where is it?" I pretended not to have seen it.

I turned to look at him and he was standing in the doorway with his hand pinching the bridge of his nose. His eyes were closed.

I took a deep breath and grabbed his arm and pulled him in the room. Then I slammed the door.

"Look Edward. I know you're pissed at me for not telling you that I knew your family and a little about you." His eyes were open now, but the coldness was still there. "It's not any of my business so I never said anything. I didn't want to _upset_ you. But isn't that the way everyone acts around you? Afraid to talk to you, afraid to be around you?" I said throwing my arms up. It was breaking my heart to talk to him this way, but it had to be done. I had to show him that I was not going to treat him like a fragile piece of glass.

"You don't know anything about me." He sneered. Finally, a response.

"I know more than you think. And I'm not talking about all of that car stealing, drinking binge, 'fight everything that moves' bullshit either!" I was really getting worked up now. "Whether you like it or not, I saw a glimpse of the real you, and I liked it. But if you are unable to let all of this…" I said waving my hand between us. "…get in the way. Well, I guess I'll see you around." And I walked out the door.

That stupid boy was going to be the death of me.

About three days after the last dinner, I found out that Edward had a court date to attend in the first part of January. No one had wanted to tell me about it because they didn't want me to worry. Apparently he was accused with 'disturbing the peace' and 'destruction of property' due to the things that had been broken during the fight.

Esme and I kept in touch daily. She would let me in on anything and everything that Edward did. Not that she really knew anything, but it made her feel better to tell me something.

I spent Christmas with my father back in Forks. Rose and Alice joined me, but for only part of the break. They wanted to get back to Emmett and Jasper and spend some time with them before school started.

I had registered for classes online. Esme had let me in on what classes Edward was enrolled in and I purposely registered for some of them. It was going to be impossible for Edward to ignore me forever.

I was nervous to start the new semester. I had two classes with Edward, Biology and American History.

I had purposely waited until the last minute to enter our History class. I wanted to make sure he was inside and settled before I made my entrance.

I walked in and immediately spotted Edward. He was in the back row slouched in his chair with his legs stretched out in front of him with his ankles crossed, his arms crossed in front if his chest.

I moved forward and headed to the back row and plopped myself down in the seat next to him. I chanced a glance in his direction and noticed him looking at me out of the corner of his eye. As soon as he saw that I was looking his direction, his eyes slid back to face the front.

In Biology I had tried to be his lab partner, but I think he knew that I would and sat next to some kid called Eric. I sat directly behind him. What I didn't count on was that Mike would be in this class and he came and sat by me at the last minute. I could see Edward stiffen at the sight of Mike and his proximity to him.

So far Mike had been perfectly nice to me, and had not said anything to Edward.

And that is how the first two weeks went. I was a little surprised that Edward hadn't tried to switch or drop either of these classes. He showed up everyday, but never looked at me again.

Edward's court date had arrived. All of the Cullens' went to the courthouse. I went on my own not wanting to 'butt in' on the family. I slipped in the back just before the judge called the room to order.

There were five other men being accused of the same charges. They were all much older than Edward. All six of them got charged with 'destruction of property' and 'disturbing the peace'. Two of them were charged with assault because it was found out that they had been the ones that instigated the fight. The four of them including Edward that had not been charged with assault, had to pay a huge fine to the owner, and were forced to either do community service for two months or spend a month in jail.

Of course Edward's lawyer opted for the community service and the fine. Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett were shaking hands with the lawyer and saying their thank yous. Edward just stood to the side and watched.

I started to leave but I took one last glance over to the family. I looked at Edward and our eyes locked. I stood there and stared at him for what seemed like forever before I smiled a small smile and turned and walked out the door.

To say I was relieved would be an understatement.

The next day at school I was sitting in class next to Edward in history. He looked like he had not slept in days. The boring lecture in class was not doing him any good for motivation to stay awake.

_I'm relieved that everything turned out Ok yesterday. _I wrote on a piece of paper and slid it onto his desk.

He studied it for a minute and went back to watching the teacher.

_Are you busy after class? I really need to talk to you. _I wrote and slid it onto his desk again.

He read it and put his elbows on the desk and ran on hand through his hair before he rested his head on his folded arms. His face was turned away from me.

A throat cleared. "Mr.…um…Cullen" the teacher read from a paper in his hands. "My class is not a place to sleep! I suggest you sit up and pay attention."

Edward lifted his head, glanced in my direction, got up and swiftly walked out of the classroom.

After class I stepped outside hoping to find Edward waiting to talk to me. He was nowhere to be found.

Call it what you will. The silent treatment. The cold shoulder. Complete rejection. It's all the same.


	10. Chapter 10

This was getting ridiculous.

How am I supposed to get this stubborn boy to talk to me again, even if it is just enough for me to apologize? That's all I needed.

No. That would be a flat out lie.

I needed him to forgive me. I needed him to let me back in. I needed him.

"Bella, stop being so depressed." Alice begged. "You knew when you met him that he was damaged goods."

"I know I should have let him be, I just couldn't. Gah! This is so frustrating!" I said falling back onto the couch.

Alice and Rose had been trying to cheer me up for weeks.

Rose came to sit on the floor by the end of the couch that was near my head. She reached out and began raking her fingers through my hair.

"You've tried Bella. He is not responding to you. Just let it go." She said with her hand at my temple. "Emmett doesn't want you to get upset over his brother. He hates seeing you so torn up over him."

"Rose is right. Just let it go." Alice sighed.

I looked at each of their faces. They were serious. "I can't." I squeaked out before the tears started to fall again.

Going to school and seeing him was getting harder and harder for me. He deliberately seemed to be avoiding me at all costs. Of course we were in two classes together, but that didn't mean that he had to acknowledge my presence. He would sit silently through class and all but bolt out the door when it was over. Even Mike Newton noticed.

"Cullen is one weird guy." He said to me after class one day. I shrugged. "He used to be kinda fun actually. We used to have a good time when we were friends."

Mike had apologized to me about the 'deli incident' that happened last semester. He said that he didn't know that Edward would react that way. Mike had never been on the receiving end of one of Edward's outbursts. He told me that he was just joking around with him and was surprised at Edward's reaction. He seemed sincere.

I was going to give up. It had been two months since the 'Thanksgiving Debacle' and I was not making any progress. I just wanted to tell him that I was sorry for the whole thing.

We were heading over to the Cullens' house tonight for dinner. This would be my last one whether I had my chance to talk to Edward or not. This was it.

We entered the house and it was filled with the aroma of Esme's wonderful cooking. We all headed into the dining room to find Esme hard at work setting the table.

"Dinner is almost ready. Emmett, Jasper, get the girls something to drink." Esme ordered.

We all settled around the table and ate while we all talked about school.

We finished up dinner and dessert and headed into the living room to chat some more. Everyone was sitting around laughing and smiling with easy conversation. My mind was, as always, somewhere else.

It's now or never, I guess.

I got up slowly and excused myself to use the restroom, but instead I walked out of the archway from the living room and headed up the stairs.

My heart was beating rapidly and my hands were sweaty.

I reached the door at the end of the hallway and knocked. Nothing. I knocked again. I heard some movement from inside the room, but the door didn't open. I reached out and grabbed the knob and started to turn it slowly.

I opened the door and stepped in without closing it behind me. The room was cleaned up from the last time I had been in here, but it still looked lived in.

Edward was lying on his bed wearing a t-shirt and jeans with his arms crossed over his face his knees bent. I knew that he knew who was in his room.

"Just leave me alone, _please_." He sighed and rolled onto his side facing away from me.

"That's the problem, I can't." I replied.

"_Try._" He ran his hand through his hair leaving his hand on the back of his head and his arm on the side of his face.

"Edward, I can't leave things this way between us. I feel like I have to explain myself to you. I never meant to hurt you this way. I know I was wrong for not telling you everything, but I just didn't know what to say.

"I heard your story through Emmett. I don't know if he was telling the whole truth or if he had embellished some of it. I mean, yeah, it was some story, but there must have been a reason for you to do and say the things you did. I don't know maybe there wasn't. What I'm getting at is that when I met you I didn't see the brother that Emmett described, I saw someone else, and after I got to know you better you didn't seem anything like the person that Emmett told me about. I didn't care about anything that was said about you. After we became friends I decided that it didn't matter."

He sniffed. "What didn't matter?" It was almost a whisper.

"It didn't matter what you had done before we met." I walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.

"It matters Bella. I'm not always the person you might want me to be."

"Don't you see? I don't care."

"Why?" His voice was strained.

"Because…" I kicked off my shoes and crawled closer to him on the bed until I was right behind him sitting on my knees. "…you made me fall for you, you idiot!" And with that I laid down behind him and wrapped my arms around his middle.

His breath shuddered and I kissed his neck.

He took a deep breath and rolled over to face me. Or so I thought that was what was going to happen. Instead he kept moving until his head was rested on my chest and his arms were securely around me hugging tightly.

I could feel his chest constricting and his shoulders shake. He was crying.

One of my hands went to the side of his face and into his hair and the other automatically started rubbing soothing circles on his back, tears sliding down my own cheeks as well.

I don't know how long we were lying there like that crying, but I looked up to see that we had an audience. Edward had not noticed.

Esme started to walk into the room. Her face was full of concern. I shook my head 'no', and she stopped. She retreated back to the doorway. Carlisle put his arm around her and led her out of the room pulling the door quietly shut behind them.

Soon we both quieted down and Edward's breathing became slower and more even. He had fallen asleep. I didn't care if my whole body went numb. I would lay here forever if it meant that I had him back. I kissed the top of his head and closed my eyes.

My eyes fluttered open and the room was dimly lit by the bedside lamp. Earlier the ceiling light was on, but clearly someone had come in and turned it off from the switch by the door.

Edward was still asleep, but he had moved so that his head was resting next to mine on the pillow, his arm draped over my stomach.

I slowly sat up and looked at the clock next to the bed. It read: 11:43pm. Wow, we had slept for almost three hours.

I lifted Edward's arm off of me and set it in front of him. I slid off the bed and went to his closet where I knew he kept the t-shirt and shorts that I had worn previously. I found them quickly and headed in the bathroom and shut the door.

I changed my clothes and washed my face with a damp washcloth. I walked out into the room and noticed that Edward was sitting up rubbing his eyes.

"Hey." I said walking back to the bed.

"Hi." He sighed. "You changed your clothes."

I nodded and walked back over to the opposite side of the bed. I pulled back the covers and slid myself in. "I'm going to stay, if that's Ok?"

He turned to face me. "Yeah, I'd like it if you did."

"You should change. Get more comfortable."

He looked up at me and down at the jeans that he was wearing and back up at me.

He stood up from the bed, unbuttoned his jeans, pulled them off, lifted the covers, slid into the bed, then reached over and clicked off the light.

I scooted closer to him and he reached out and pulled me to his chest. "I'm sorry that I'm such an ass. I'm sorry that I let my temper get in the way of…well…everything that I do. I'm sorry for crying all over you."

"You sure say you're 'sorry' a lot." I chuckled trying to lighten the moment.

He pulled back and kissed my forehead.

I took that opportunity to lean in and kiss under his chin, along his jaw and down his neck to the collar of his t-shirt. He put his hands on the sides of my face and brought his lips to mine briefly.

"I missed you." I breathed. He nodded and crashed his lips back to mine.

My hands slid under his arms and up his back, my hands flat on his shoulder blades. His hands remained on my face as our kiss deepened.

Our kiss ended with him almost on top of me, our bare legs entwined, my hands in his hair, one of his hands on my hip and the other supporting himself so that all of his weight was not on me. Our mouths separated and he ducked his head into my neck and shoulder.

"I missed you too." He breathed into my neck. I couldn't help but giggle.

"Don't ever leave me again…physically or mentally." I said cautiously.

He lifted his head and looked me in the eye. "Never again."

I pushed him onto his back and laid my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me and my hand rested on his stomach. I yawned.

"Go to sleep, my Bella. I'll be here when you wake up, I promise." I nodded and closed my eyes.

The room was filled with light from the morning sun. I squinted my eyes and sat up on my elbows to check the clock. 9:07am.

I looked at Edward's sleeping from next to me. He was on his back with one of his arms up above his head. His shirt was about a third pushed up around his middle exposing his stomach. I was about to lay back down when I noticed the yellowing remains of the bruise that was under his arm on his side.

I reached out and lifted his shirt higher so that I could see his injury in its entirety. I ran my fingers over the discoloration of his skin. He flinched.

I looked to his face to see him watching me. "Does it still hurt?" I asked.

"It's still a little sore. It's not too bad."

I leaned down and over him and brought my lips to the spot and kissed him lightly twice.

"Feel any better?" He nodded.

"You know, I got hurt here too." He said pointing to where he had gotten the stitches on his brow.

I sat up and kissed where he was pointing.

He held his hands out in front of us with his palms facing away from us. He pointed at each of the knuckles on both hands. "These were hurt also." His lip jutting out in a pout.

I reached out and took one of his hands and gently kissed each knuckle. I repeated the process with the other hand.

"Here too" He said pointing to the corner of his mouth.

I placed my hand on the side of his face and slid my thumb across his bottom lip. He closed his eyes.

"I don't see anything wrong here. I think you might be Ok." I smirked. His eyes snapped open.

"Just kidding…" I said before I leaned in and kissed his mouth giggling.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me onto his chest. My knees on either side of his hips. He smiled his crooked grin and I leaned down to kiss him properly. Just before our lips met the bedroom door busted open with a bang.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Emmett growled.

I slid off of Edward as he sat up abruptly. He looked livid, but then closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose when I slid my hand under his shirt and rubbed the smooth skin on his back. He took a couple of deep breaths before opening his eyes and looking at his brother.

Carlisle and Esme appeared at the door.

"Mom, Dad, you never let me have a girl in _my_ room when I was 18! Is this some new kind of therapy?" Emmett bellowed. I couldn't tell if he was more upset that Edward had a girl spend the night with him, or that his parents allowed it.

My face must have been the deepest shade of red imaginable. I wanted to hide away and never be found again. I plopped back on the bed and pulled the sheet over my head to hide my embarrassment.

"Good idea." I heard Edward mumble before I was joined under the sheet. I could see that his cheeks were pink too.

We heard the bedroom door close and Emmett's stomping feet retreat down the hall.

We both started laughing as we stayed cuddled up under the protective sheet.


	11. Chapter 11

We stayed snuggled up under the sheets for a few more minutes laughing quietly at Emmett's outburst.

I had never seen Edward so…open and alive. Sure, he had his moments before, but now it seemed like the dark cloud that hung over him had blown away in the wind.

The sun was coming out, and I couldn't be happier.

"What do you want to do today?" He asked.

"This is good." I said hugging myself closer to him.

"I think so too, but I guarantee that Emmett will be back up here any sec-" Edward was cut off by a loud bang on the door.

"Mom is making breakfast so get up!"

We both got up and got dressed and made our way downstairs. Edward seemed a bit wary of having to be near his family.

I took his hand as we walked into the kitchen.

Esme looked up at us from the stove and smiled. "I'm almost done with the eggs; take a seat at the table."

She dished out three plates of food and placed them in front of Emmett, Edward and I.

We ate in silence.

Edward's eyes stayed down looking at his plate or over to me. His gaze never wandered to his mother or brother.

After breakfast was cleaned up, Edward and I went back up to his room and sat on his couch.

I could tell that he was still uncomfortable. He wasn't looking at me and his eyes were focused on his knees.

I slowly brushed my hand through his hair and he looked at me.

"Are you alright? You seem a little nervous."

"Yeah, I'm fine I guess. You know that is the first meal I've had with any member of my family in over two years?"

"I know it's hard for you, but they really do love you."

He sighed and closed his eyes.

A few moments passed in silence.

"Remember what I told you about Newton?" He said quietly.

"Yes."

"That is kind of where it all started." I looked up at him. I wasn't sure where he was going with this conversation.

"You know the bets and the competitions? Well, I was a straight 'A' student all through school, probably because of that. Emmett, however, was not. He didn't do too bad or anything, but when he came home with a report card with only one 'C' it was like he had cured cancer or something to my parents. He always got a 'well done son' from our dad and we would go out to eat to celebrate.

"One year we both had our projects entered in the state science fair. Afterwards my dad would brag to his friends that Emmett had been entered. It was a great accomplishment to even get entered. My project actually won in my grade level, he didn't bother to mention that bit of information to anyone. I was twelve, and to have your own Dad dismiss your hard work was devastating.

"I was dragged to every stupid football game and wrestling match of Emmett's by both of my parents. It didn't matter if I had other plans or not, 'you need to show your support your brother, Edward' is the response I would get if I complained about going."

I took his hand in mine and threaded our fingers together.

He took a deep breath and continued. "When I was fourteen, I had entered a competition where the winner would get to play with the Seattle Orchestra in a concert. I won. It was going to be the best night of my life. I was very proud of myself for the achievement.

"I was dressed up in a tux and there were people there that even tried to style my hair. It was a big deal.

"I was out on a huge stage and there was a big audience in attendance that night. I was walking on air. It felt so good. When I finished and stood to the applauding crowd, I searched for my family. My mother was there, standing, clapping and snapping pictures. Next to her were two empty seats."

He paused.

I could see the hurt in his eyes just as if this had happened yesterday. The too familiar pucker in his brow returned.

I put my hand on his cheek and turned his face towards me. "Tell me what happened next."

"When we got home, my mother found Emmett and he had complained about going, he said it was stupid to have to go and sit through some boring 'piano show'. She found my dad in his study and asked where he had been. He was supposed to meet her there. He told her that he had forgotten and had been out with some of his colleagues from work.

"God Bella, it sounds stupid now, but when you are just a kid that kind of shit can really hurt. It really messed with my head. At that point I was trying everything to impress my parents. I felt I just needed to work harder. What I was doing wasn't enough; I had to push myself to the limit. There just weren't enough hours in the day anymore to keep up, and that's when I went to James."

"Who's James?" I remembered the name from Emmett's story.

"James was a senior. He was considered 'the guy that can get things' at school. And I wanted something, anything that could help me. He gave me amphetamines, speed, uppers, whatever you want to call it. I was reluctant to take it. I didn't know what would happen. He talked me into trying it.

"I didn't sleep for 4 days. It was perfect, and I wanted more.

"My grades stayed high, I was top in the class. I had all the time in the world now that I didn't have to sleep. My mind was racing all of the time trying to come up with new ways to impress my family. That is when I got the idea to apply early to Julliard. Getting in to Julliard at my age would quite an accomplishment. I knew that my father would be impressed. So I applied and earned an audition. My school was taking a field trip to New York in the spring and that is when I set up the audition. Again, perfect. The perfect surprise.

"I got home and waited impatiently for the response from the school. Finally it came. I got home and saw my parents looking at all of the information that they had sent with the acceptance letter. I couldn't believe it. I was overly excited. They had given me a full scholarship. I knew that my parents were just waiting for me to get home so that they could congratulate me. My heart was practically going to burst out of my chest. Of course, the pills probably caused that.

"The reaction from my father was not what I expected. He was outraged. I was shocked to say the least. He sat me down and went on and on about trust and honesty. He told me that this was a waste of his and my time. I was supposed to follow his footsteps and become a doctor. Have a 'real' career and not play around with a piano. He told me that I would graduate from high school and go to the college of his choosing with no complaints.

"I sat there on the couch and realized that I had no control over my life. My dreams didn't matter, and that I would never be able to satisfy my father. So I let it go. All of it. My dreams of what _I_ wanted in life, and my father's dreams of what _he_ wanted in my life. That's the day that I stopped trying, stopped caring.

"After that day I started hanging out with James and his friends. I didn't need the pills that kept me awake anymore. I just wanted to be numb, and for the first time in my life I got what I wanted."

He looked at me then and I couldn't read the emotion that he held on his face.

"Edward, I…" I didn't know what to say. He was pouring his heart out to me and I didn't know what to say.

He looked away. He was about ready to get up when I stopped him by kneeling beside him and putting my hands on his shoulders. He kept his eyes away from mine.

"Edward, look at me." I demanded.

I place my hands on either side of his face and turned his head to face me and his eyes met mine.

"I'm not saying this because of what you just told me. I'm saying this because it is how I've felt since when I first met you and how I feel today.

"Edward you are an amazing person. You are super smart, funny, ridiculously talented, and handsome as hell." I smirked at the last one.

"That's not very convincing." He said with the corner of his mouth lifting.

"Smart ass." I said grabbing his ears and pulling him to me so that I could kiss him.

There was a sound in the hallway.

I broke away from our kiss to see what it was.

Esme was standing in the doorway with her hands over her mouth. She had tears streaming down her cheeks. By the look on her face, she had heard the whole story.

Edward stood like he was going to make a run for it as Esme slowly walked into the room.

"Baby, I didn't know that's how you felt." She said through sobs. "We've always been so proud of you."

Edward remained silent.

When she reached him she wrapped her arms around him. Edward just stood there like a statue. After about thirty seconds he broke away from her and marched out the door.

I tried to follow, but by the time I even made it to the top of the stairs the front door was slamming.

I waited for a couple of hours for him to cool down and come home, but he never did.

I called Alice to pick me up and take me home. It was raining by the time we got there, and we ran inside.

I took a quick shower and changed my clothes.

I searched under my bed for my duffel bag and through some clothes and toiletries in it. I grabbed my backpack and ran back out to my truck, and headed back to the Cullen house.

Esme welcomed me back. She had not heard from Edward. I went up to his room and waited.

I fell into a light sleep on his bed around ten.

I woke up to the sound of the bedroom door opening and closing and the squishing sound of wet shoes on the hardwood floor.

I clicked on the bedside lamp to see Edward drenched from head to toe, his hair plastered to his forehead.

I jumped up and ran over to him. "You're freezing!"

"I-I'm s-s-orry." He managed to get out through his chattering teeth.

I pulled him into the bathroom and started the shower.

"Strip." I told him. He looked at me wide-eyed.

I walked over to him and grabbed a hold of the bottom of his shirt and yanked it up over his head. I shouldn't have done that.

Ever since the day that I came over and Edward was shirtless when he opened the door, I've had a 'thing' for Edward's topless form.

I ran my hand back down his chest and stopped at the waistband of his jeans. I don't think that I was breathing. I don't think he was either.

I started to unbutton his pants and I felt his hands on my waist. He was so close. I could feel him let out a long breath on my ear.

He slid his hands under the hem of my shirt. I could feel his cold fingers on my skin.

He slowly pulled up my shirt. I raised my arms so that he could lift it over my head.

He looked at me in just my bra, and I closed my eyes when he started to kiss my neck.

I went back to removing his pants. I had the last button undone and was starting to tug them down when I felt him grab a hold of the sides of my pajama pants and start to pull them off.

They slid down my legs and I was left in just my bra and panties. I kicked them to the side and continued to pull off his pants. Finally the wet fabric of his jeans released him and he was clad only in his boxers.

I reached with my hands to his face and brought his lips to mine in a heated kiss.

I felt my bra loosen and the straps fall down my arms. I let it fall to the floor and he pressed me against the wall.

I slid my hands down his back causing him to shiver. I hooked my fingers in the sides of his boxers and started to slide them off his hips.

We were so wrapped up in one another and with the sound of the shower running, we didn't hear the bedroom door open and someone come in.

"What the…"

Edward quickly pulled his lips from mine and pulled me into his chest so that I wouldn't be exposed to the intruder to his bedroom. I ducked my head under his chin.

"Get some clothes on and get your ass in my study NOW!"


	12. Chapter 12

Edward's hands were still pressed into my back holding me to him even after several minutes had passed since Carlisle's departure.

He reached down to the floor and picked up my shirt and pajama pants and handed them to me and headed out the door into his room.

I slipped my clothes back on and stepped out of the doorway.

Edward had put on a t-shirt and some sweats. He walked slowly to the door to the hall. He looked like he was being sentenced to death and had to walk out to the firing squad.

"Do you want me to go with you?" I asked.

He ran his hands through his still damp hair and shook his head and walked out the door.

I sat on the edge of the bed for a few moments before I decided to make my way down to Carlisle's study.

As I got closer to the door I noticed that it was still open a crack. If I listened really hard I could make out what they were saying.

I couldn't see Edward, but I'm sure he was tensed up. He remained silent.

Since I couldn't see either of their faces, it was hard to know how this was going to turn out.

Finally Carlisle spoke. "Edward, you and your brother are two completely different people. Ever since you were children I could see that. Emmett needed constant supervision and attention while you would play and be content on your own."

Esme must have told him of the conversation that we had this afternoon.

"Emmett struggled in school and you always caught on to anything that was introduced to you. That is why your mother and I would always baby him and tell him that he was doing a good job, or congratulate him on any successes whether they were major or minor.

"You didn't need all of that. You don't need all of that." Carlisle stated. "And now it might not even matter anymore. I pulled a lot of strings to get you into school this year. Not a lot of colleges of this caliber would accept someone with your now tainted record. But if you do well here, I don't see any reason that you can't succeed. You can get back on track."

"Back on track to what, Dad?" Edward managed to get out though it sounded strained.

"Back on track to your future. It's not too late. You can focus on your classes, we will get you on the Pre-Med schedule and you should be fine. You just can't have anymore screw-ups. No more fighting, arrests, drinking, or anything else that could cause a bad mark on your record. And from what I just walked into, I could see another mistake about to take place. Edward, were you _prepared _for what you were about to do? Because I doubt if you were. _That_ kind of mistake could ruin Bella's future too.

"Don't you have anything to say? Because honestly Edward I'm tired of this silent treatment that you give your mother and me."

"You really don't get it? Seriously? I've worked my ass off for you and I'm obviously done! Can't you see that? I.Do.Not.Want.To.Be.A.Doctor!" Edward yelled. "I don't care what you think anymore. I did, I really did, but now I don't fucking care! My relationship with Bella is none of your business. I won't let you ruin it! I won't let you take away anything else from me that I care about!"

Edward was really getting worked up. I could tell that he was pacing around the room while he spoke. I could hear his footsteps stomping back and forth. This couldn't go on. He was going to start breaking things or hurt himself if this went on much more. So I gently pushed the door to the study open.

Carlisle was standing behind his desk with one hand on his hip and the other was running through his hair.

Well, _that_ looked familiar.

Edward was leaning with both arms in front of him against the book case. I could see the muscles in his arms clench and release. He was about to lose it, and that meant that he would leave the house and probably disappear for a few days again.

There was no way I was going to let that happen.

I walked into the room and looked at Carlisle. He looked defeated as he sat down into his chair with a heavy sigh.

I walked up behind Edward. "Hey." I said quietly as I put my hand on his back.

He immediately relaxed his stance and stood up and dropped his arms.

I took his hand and walked him out of the room and back down the hallway.

We went back into his room and I started gathering my things and putting them in my bag.

"What are you doing?" Edward asked with a terrified look on his face.

"_We_ are getting out of here. Grab some clothes and put them in my bag. Get your shoes and a jacket and we are leaving."

He stood still for a moment processing what I had said. After a few seconds he started to move. In a matter of minutes we had everything gathered and headed out to my truck.

It was still raining as we made the short trip over to my dorm.

I unlocked the door and we walked into the room. Alice and Jasper were sitting on the couch watching a movie. I was surprised that she wasn't in bed since it was well after midnight.

They both turned to see who came in and looked surprised to see us.

"Hey, Bella…" She started but I cut her off.

"Alice, Jasper, this is Edward, you know Emmett's brother? Edward, this is one of my best friends Alice and her boyfriend Jasper." I said dragging Edward towards my room.

Edward just nodded to them and gave them a nervous smile.

"Nice to meet you finally." Alice said jumping up from the couch.

"_Goodnight_ Alice, Jasper." I said ushering Edward into my room and closing the door.

I took off my jacket and kicked off my shoes. Edward mimicked my actions.

I pulled back the blankets on my bed and climbed in. I patted beside me on the bed and reached over to click off the light.

Edward sat on the edge until I tugged at his arm to lie down and I threw the covers over both of us.

I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Bella?" He said.

"Edward, I knew that your dad upset you. I didn't want you to think that there was no where for you to go. So I brought you here. I couldn't take it if you disappeared again." I sniffed.

"Thanks." He whispered.

I awoke to my alarm clock blaring. I slammed my hand down on it to turn it off.

I looked over at Edward and he was still sound asleep. We were both exhausted. Neither of us slept very well. We went to bed so late and both tossed and turned for a few hours before we could find sleep. And considering that my dorm room bed was just a twin it made it even more difficult to get comfortable. So I decided we could skip class today under the circumstances, and I allowed myself to go back to sleep.

A few hours later I woke up to Edward brushing my hair out of my face and looking at me lovingly. I just smiled at him and sat up.

"I'm starving." I told him. "You want some cereal?"

He nodded and kissed my forehead before jumping out of bed.

I figured Alice would be off to class already and we'd have the dorm to ourselves. But instead I opened the bedroom door to find not only Alice, but Jasper, Rose and Emmett sitting in the living area.

"Hey…guys…" I started and took Edward's hand.

Emmett stepped forward and stood directly in front of Edward.

"Hey…Ed…um…can I talk to you for a minute?" Emmett said.

"Yeah, sure." Edward replied as Emmett made his way into my room. Edward followed and the door closed.

Oh god, oh god, oh god. I stood gaping at the closed door.

"They'll be fine." Rose stated. Seeming sure of herself. "Emmett has been going over and over the conversation that he wants to have with Edward since last night when his parent's called and told him what happened."

I talked with the girls a little about what had been going on with Edward and me. They wanted to know all of the details about us. They told me how much they had missed me over the last few months.

I had been spending so much time with Edward that I had completely neglected my best friends.

We chatted about everything for about an hour before the bedroom door finally opened.

They both walked out together and Emmett had his arm draped over Edward's shoulders. Edward had a small smile on his face compared to Emmett's giant grin.

"What's for breakfast ladies, I'm starving!" Emmett boomed once he made it to the kitchen.

We skipped the cereal and decided to make a trip to the diner to have a real breakfast. We all sat around the table and had a great time. Even Edward's mood had lifted and was joining in on the conversation.

I kept smiling looking between him and Emmett. Their relationship had a lot of mending to do, but I was thrilled that they were able to talk and enjoy each other again.

Later when we were alone Edward told me about his and Emmett's conversation. He told me that Emmett confessed that he had always thought that Edward was the one that got everything and all of the attention from their parents. He explained to Edward that he had thought that Carlisle had always liked Edward more because Carlisle had wanted Edward to follow in his footsteps and not Emmett.

Edward told him that he had never wanted to be a doctor but rather a composer and pianist. It was an eye opening experience for both of them.

We were back to school the next day and were heading to our Biology class when we spotted Mike near the entrance.

"Hi, Bella." Mike said as we got closer. He completely ignored Edward. "We need to get to work on our project soon. You should come over to my house."

"Maybe it would be better if we worked in the library Mike."

"Yeah maybe, but I've been wanting to get to _know_ you better." He said not looking at me but at Edward.

I felt Edward stiffen and when I looked at him his jaw was clenched tight.

"I don't think that's necessary Mike. The library should be fine."

It seemed Mike's new nice persona was turning out to be fake. I really didn't know what he was getting at, but I didn't want to find out.

Edward pulled my hand and we walked into class.

The teacher was going on and on about our projects that were due in a couple of weeks. I couldn't help but to daydream throughout the entire class period.

Edward sat in front of me and all I could think about was him. What was it that drew me to him? How talented he was. What he had wanted to do with his life. What would make him happy and end all of his worries?

And that is when it hit me. As soon as possible I had a phone call to make.

After class Edward had to meet with Dr. Price for his session. I couldn't go so I had an hour to myself.

I called 411 and got the number. I dialed the long distance number and took in a deep breath when they answered.

"Um, Hi. Yes I have a couple of questions." I spoke into the phone.

Once I had all of my questions answered I knew what my plan was.

I met back up with Edward and we headed to the library to work on some homework. I left him at the table and headed over to the computers that were available to students.

I pulled up the website and printed the application.

I walked back over to the table and placed it in front of him.

He stared at it for a few minutes before looking at my expectant face. "Bella, what's this?"

"It's an application. All you have to do is fill it out with all of your information. You know? Update it? All of the supporting documents they already have. They still have you on file. They would, however, like you to write another essay, and of course…um…audition again."

"Bella, this…this…is…" I could tell he was trying not to get angry. "…it's too late." He finished with a sigh and put his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"No, no, it's not too late. You're only 18. You are at the age when people do this sort of thing, but this time you _are_ 18 and don't have to have your parents' permission. Get it?" I paused. "Come _on_ Edward. You know you want to." I said pushing his shoulder and grinning at him.

"What am I going to do with you?" He said shaking his head.

"Take me with you when you go, because I'll miss you too much." And I would go. I would do anything for him. I could transfer schools. I could do that for him.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Again thanks for the reviews. I'm glad you like the story so far. Sorry for the wait for the update. Unfortunately I only had one day off from work this week.**

Edward had filled out the application and wrote an amazing essay. We sent it away in the mail and started waiting for the reply. The school was holding auditions in different major cities across the U.S. and luckily Seattle was on the list.

For the audition, Edward had to play three pieces of music, one piece of his choice, but it had to include certain elements, a piece that would be given to him only hours before he had to play it, and a piece that he had written himself.

The audition was only a month away and I was concerned that he wouldn't have enough time to prepare.

"Don't worry. I already have a piece of music that I have written. And I know exactly what I want to do for the other piece." He assured me. "Whatever they throw at me at the audition shouldn't be too difficult."

He was much more relaxed than I was. I was a nervous wreck. He practiced more than I think he would have if it wouldn't have been for me.

Edward and I were going to meet at school today. He had an early morning appointment with the Doc and insisted that I didn't need to get to school early just for him.

I was walking quickly along the breezeway on my way to meet Edward at the coffee hut in the courtyard when my arm was grabbed and I was pulled into an alcove between two buildings.

"What's the rush?" He said into my ear.

"Jesus Mike, you scared me!" I almost yelled.

"I wanted to get you alone. You know you are never away from Cullen?"

"Why does it matter?" I managed to get out before Mike pulled me into his chest.

"What do you think you're doing? Do you have a death wish?" I said trying to push him away.

"Is that a threat? Are you going to sick your crazy boyfriend on me?" He laughed. "Because I owe him for that broken nose. But of course you could pay me back for him."

"You have got to be kidding! Get away from me!"

He held on to me tighter and lowered his head and kissed me on the lips. All I could do is try to push him off of me.

I struggled against his grasp and he finally removed his lips from mine. "Come on Bella, you can do better than that. You want me to leave Cullen alone don't you?"

Before I could get a word out his lips descended down on mine again trying to force my lips open. I closed my eyes waiting for this to be over.

Mike suddenly released me and stumbled back. I opened my eyes to see that Edward had Mike pinned up against the wall and was about to beat the shit out of him.

"Edward, please, no!" I screamed. I knew that if he got into trouble again with Mike he would surely end up kicked out of school and maybe have to sit in jail or something.

I grabbed Edward's arm and tried to restrain him. Unfortunately my interference caused Mike to get loose and start to shove Edward away. Mike was coming up to Edward and was about to swing at him when I felt a surge of energy and punched him in the face as hard as I could.

Mike looked stunned and Edward's livid face turned slightly amused.

Mike grabbed his nose. "Bella you broke my nose!" He yelled. Blood was running down his face.

"Don't mess with me Newton!" I said through clenched teeth. "Trust me when I tell you this…you had better never try to pull a stunt like that again. Don't ever talk or even _look_ at Edward or me again. Do I make myself clear?"

Mike just stood there staring at me. I stomped off towards the parking lot with Edward following.

"Bella are you Ok?" Edward asked once we were in my truck. He looked concerned, but also I think he was trying not to smile.

"No Edward, I'm not fine! My hand freaking hurts!" I wailed. Tears starting to run down my face.

Edward pulled me over him so that he was behind the wheel and started the engine. He put a protective arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer.

"I'm sorry. I'll take you to the hospital to get your hand checked out." He said against my temple. "Thank you for _saving_ me."

I looked up to his face to see if he was being sarcastic, but all I saw was love.

At the hospital they told me that I had dislocated one of my knuckles, and it hurt like hell to have them snap it back into place.

Three weeks later Edward got a letter in the mail explaining the details of the audition. They were holding it on campus in the theatre arts building. They had accepted his application and his essay. They just had to see him play and interview him at the audition.

For the audition Edward dressed up in dark slacks a white button down shirt, a jacket and tie.

I went with him into the theatre arts building but had to stay in the lobby during the audition. He was inside for an hour and a half.

He came out with a small smile, but he wouldn't know the outcome for a few more weeks.

I had started sending in my applications to the state schools in New York City. I also put in applications for financial aid and scholarships as well. Being an out of state student was turning out to be very expensive. I would need a lot of aid to be able to go.

School was coming to an end in just six weeks and that meant finals were approaching. My classes were going good and I felt that I shouldn't be having any problems finishing up this semester.

I would catch Edward daydreaming during both of our classes together. Not that he needed to pay attention to the professors because he had absolutely no problems retaining any of the information even though he wasn't even paying attention. I knew that he was thinking of New York.

I knocked and opened the door to Edward's house and I noticed Carlisle and Esme standing in the living room discussing something.

"Did you know about this?" Carlisle asked Esme.

"No, I had no idea, but Carlisle maybe this is a good thing." Esme pleaded.

They both turned to me when I cleared my throat upon entering the living room.

That is when I noticed the large envelope in Carlisle's hand. It was not opened but I had a good feeling I knew what it was.

"Is Edward home?" I asked.

"Yes, he's in his room." Carlisle started. "Bella, you wouldn't know anything about this would you?" He was holding up the envelope.

"Let me see."

I looked at the envelope and sure enough it was from Julliard. It was thick and heavy. Of course it was addressed to Edward.

"Actually it was all my idea." I said gripping the envelope to my chest. "He's very anxious to find out the results." I started walking towards the stairs.

I looked over my shoulder to see Carlisle slump down onto the couch and Esme sit down and pat his hand.

I reached Edward's door and I could hear soft music playing from his stereo.

I walked in and he was sitting on his couch wearing just a pair of jeans tapping away at his laptop. His hair was wet from the shower and was sticking up all over.

"Edward…" I sang holding up the large envelope. "I think I may have something that might interest you."

He looked up at me with a smirk, but it changed into a full blown smile when he noticed what I was holding.

He set his laptop to the side and I walked over to him and handed him the letter. I sat down next to him and grabbed his hand.

"You know, whatever this says…either way…" I trailed off.

He nodded. "I know." He said looking deep into my eyes, and I leaned over and kissed him.

He slowly tore open the envelope and undid the clasp on the back. He pulled out a thick stack of papers and started to read.

"Well?" The suspense was killing me.

He skimmed over every page before he leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. He set the papers down in his lap and started running his hands through his hair.

I reached over and snatched them from his lap and started to look them over. My mouth fell open and I gasped. Not only had Edward gotten in, but he had been awarded a full scholarship that covered all four years. From what I understood, they only awarded this scholarship to one new student a year, and some years they didn't award it to anyone. It was a highly coveted award.

I looked up to see him with his head still lying back on the couch but his face was turned to me. He had the most adorable lop-sided grin on his lips.

I practically launched myself into his lap straddling his legs. "I can't believe it! I'm so proud of you!"

I took his face in my hands and started kissing him all over. His cheeks, his forehead, his chin, his eyes, and finally his lips. His hands rested on my hips and he was laughing at my exuberance.

"Well Mr. Cullen. It looks like we have some packing to do before the fall."

He pulled me closer to his chest. "I couldn't have done it without you Bella. I'm glad you are so stubborn."

We owed it to his parents to tell them at least. Esme seemed to actually be happy for him. Carlisle stayed quiet.

Emmett was thrilled and had offered to drive us there in his jeep pulling a trailer with our belongings in it. He hugged Edward tightly and told him how happy he was for him to finally get to do what he always wanted. He was also sad because he had just gotten Edward back into his life.

Edward had changed. He had a sparkle in his eye and a spring in his step. I don't think anything could have brought his down off of his high.

Later that night we were laying in my bed talking about the move to New York. It was still like five months away but we were too giddy to think of anything else.

I finally dozed off into a light sleep until Edward shifted to get more comfortable. I'm pretty sure he thought that I was asleep.

"I love you Isabella." He sighed into my hair and kissed the top of my head.

I leaned up on my elbow and found his eyes. "I love you too Edward." He smiled and I buried my face into his neck.


	14. Chapter 14

I woke up the next morning with a lazy grin on my face. Edward loved me. I shifted so that I could see his face. He was still sleeping soundly, so I gently slipped out of his arms and headed out into the living area.

"Morning!" Alice chirped.

"Hey Alice. What are you doing up so early?" I asked.

"I have some books to return to the library, and then I'm meeting Jasper for breakfast. Didn't Edward stay over last night?" She said looking back at my bedroom door.

"Yeah, he's still sleeping. I didn't want to wake him. We don't have class until eleven."

"Oh. So New York huh? Have you heard back from any of the schools you applied to?"

"Not yet. Alice I'm getting worried actually. I applied so late in the year."

"I'm sure everything will work out. If it is too late for the fall semester, you can always go in January."

"True, but that would mean we'd be separated for like four months. I don't think that I could stand that." I sighed.

"Bella, I've been through the long distance thing before. Remember that Jasper was here in Seattle while I was still in Forks?"

"But Alice you were only four hours away from each other, and you visited almost every weekend. New York is too far to visit that often."

Our conversation stopped when I heard my bedroom door squeak open and a sleepy looking Edward came shuffling out rubbing his eyes.

I scooted over on the couch so that he could sit next to me. He plopped down on the couch and leaned into my side and put his head on my shoulder.

"You could sleep for about another hour and a half you know?" I said while picking up his hand and linking my fingers with his.

"Hmm?" He grunted. I think that he had fallen back to sleep the second he sat down.

"Edward? Go back to bed." I giggled.

I stood up and pulled his hands to make him stand. He was worse than a five year old.

I finally got him up and back into the bed. He held his arms up for me but his eyes were still closed. "Please Bella?" He whined. My resolve faded and I crawled back into bed with him, and he wrapped himself around me and immediately fell back into a deep sleep.

School was picking up the pace and finals were suddenly just two weeks away. Edward and I spent a lot of time in the library studying. I would find myself worrying about next fall. I still hadn't heard from any of the schools that I had applied too. That wasn't my only worry though it was the biggest one. Summer was coming and I had to move back to Forks when the semester ended. I couldn't afford an apartment and I know that my dad didn't have the means to pay for it either.

The plan for the night was to go out to dinner with Edward and then spend the night at his house. Esme was always happy to welcome me into their home. Carlisle wasn't as warm as he used to be. He knew that it was me that got Edward interested in applying to Julliard again. He never said anything but he was still a little cold in my presence; mostly he spent the evenings in his study.

"What do you want to eat? Fast food or a sit down place?" Edward asked as we walked to where my truck was parked.

"Sit down place, I think. Let's go to that Italian place that is just off campus. The one with the checkered table cloths."

We walked in the door and immediately regretted our decision.

Lauren was the hostess, and it was obvious that she remembered me from last semester. Her glare made me want to run away with my tail between my legs.

Just as I was going to perform an 'about face' back out the door, Edward gripped my hand tighter and announced to Lauren that we would be having 'two' for dinner tonight.

She seated us in the back near the kitchen door, probably the worst table in the house, and handed us our menus.

Soon our waitress came to our table. She was tall and beautiful. She had strawberry blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, and she was staring at Edward with a wicked smirk on her lips.

"Hi, I'm Tanya and I'll be your server for the evening. What can I get you to drink?" Her eyes never left Edward. _Hello? There are two people at this table lady…_

"Two Cokes." I blurted out and looked at Edward and he nodded.

Tanya looked at me and almost rolled her eyes. "I'll be right back with those."

"God could she be a little more subtle at least?" I whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Edward asked with obvious confusion written on his face. Either he's trying to make me feel better or he is too cute and doesn't know that he was being ogled.

"She was practically undressing you with her eyes! Didn't you notice?" Nope, he didn't. Too cute.

"Bella you are so absurd." He said shaking his head.

Tanya came back with the Cokes and took our order, and less than twenty minutes later she brought out our dinners.

"So…summer?" I started once we started eating.

"What about it?"

"I'll be moving back to Forks with my dad. They don't let you stay in the campus dorms during the summer you know."

He looked up at me from his plate and I could see the familiar crease in his brow form. He often got this look when he was either confused or uncomfortable.

"I thought….I mean…" He stuttered. He had stopped eating. This was conversation was going downhill fast. I should have waited until we were alone in one of our rooms. I knew what was coming next. If he ran his hands through his hair this was going to work itself out before we left the restaurant. If he pinched the bridge of his nose, well he would either march out of here slamming the door behind him, or clam up and give me the silent treatment until he could calm down. _Wait for it…_

He picked up his fork and continued eating. _What?! _

After a few minutes he started talking again. "I was hoping that you would stay with me at my house this summer. I mean, sure you can go back and visit your dad, but I thought you'd be with me for most of it. I've already cleared it with Esme."

"Oh. Of course, I would love to. I didn't know that was a possibility." I confessed.

He looked up at me with his brilliant green eyes sparkling. A smile slowly crept across his face.

"Edward Cullen! Are you trying to give me a hear attack?" I accused. He knew exactly how I could read his body language and he played me!

"Bella!" He laughed. "You should have seen your face! You seriously thought I was going to freak out and bust out of this restaurant didn't you?"

I slumped in my seat and folded my arms across my chest. "Come on. It was funny." He whined. Two could play this game.

He got up and slid himself into the booth next to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "I'm sorry." He said against my temple before kissing it.

Just then Tanya reappeared and left us our check. Edward paid it and we walked out.

I drove to his house with out a word spoken between us, and waited for him to get out of the truck. "I should go home." I stated looking down.

"Bella. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I swear. Please come in." And there it was. The brow crease. _Victory!_

I looked straight into his eyes and smirked. He narrowed his eyes at me for a second and realization hit him. "You're just mean."

He ran over to my side of the truck and yanked the door open and pulled me out. He slung me over his shoulder and walked up the steps to the front door.

"Put me down!" I squealed. "I swear I'll never do that again. That is if you promise not to." I could barely get the words out through my fits of laughter.

He set me on my feet, but grabbed my hand and started running up the stairs to his room.

We talked more about me staying with him for the summer. If I didn't get to go to NYC with him, I would want to spend as much time with him before he went. The only downside of the arrangement was that I would have to break the news to my dad and I honestly didn't know how he would take it.

I decided to make a trip to Forks for the weekend. I had to tell him the news face to face, and I needed to prepare him just in case for NYC if it worked out.

Rose wanted to visit her family so I hitched a ride with her. She had already had this sort of discussion with her parents at the beginning of the school year when she told them that she would be living with Emmett instead of the dorms.

Edward insisted that he be allowed on this trip because he was sure that it would help things if he a least met Charlie. Emmett tagged along too, his reasoning being that 'Edward gets to go'. Now that these brothers were on friendlier terms they were continuously whining about each other like ten year olds. Who gets the last piece of pizza, who ate more M&M's at the movies, who gets to be 'player one' in the video game, seriously it was ridiculous. Luckily Rose and I were there most of the time to mediate.

We had decided to take Rose's convertible for the drive. The weather had been really nice and we all thought it would be fun to ride with the top down. Besides, Edward liked to jump in the back over the side instead of using the door. It would piss Rose off because sometimes he would scuff the new wax job by touching the paint with his hands. I told Rose that I would spring to have it washed and waxed when we got home to calm her down. Edward was changing and becoming more open and playful. I liked it and would do anything for it to continue. Every time he would do or say something silly I would look at Emmett and he would be beaming at his little brother.

We stopped at the gas station on the way out of town and picked up a few road trip snacks and then we were on our way.

Edward and I sat in the back and shared his iPod, each of us with an ear bud.

Finally four hours later, we were pulling into my driveway and getting mine and Edward's stuff from the trunk. My dad's cruiser was parking in front telling me that he was home for lunch.

Charlie came jogging out of the house to greet us. He scooped me up in a big hug and kissed my cheek.

"Bells, it's been too long! I've missed you so much." Charlie said when he finally released me and headed over to Rose. "Rosalie, how are you?"

"I'm good Charlie. It looks like you've lost some weight." She said patting him on the stomach. "It looks like Bella needs to cook this weekend!"

He laughed and then noticed the two boys standing on his lawn. "And who might this be?"

"Dad, I want you to meet Edward and Emmett Cullen. Edward is my boyfriend Dad." I said reaching for Edward's hand.

"It's nice to meet you Chief Swan." Edward said holding out his hand to my father.

Charlie took Edward's hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you too, son." He said with a forced smile.

"I have to run back to the station for about an hour to finish up some paperwork. Sorry Bells that I have to run out on you."

"It's Ok Dad. We'll run to the store and grab some stuff for dinner and I'll get it started while you're gone."

"Oh, before I forget. You got some interesting mail last week. I left it on your dresser." He said before he shut the cruiser door.

After Charlie drove off, I looked up at Edward and we both made a mad dash into the house. I ran up the stairs to my old room with Edward, Rose and Emmett hot on my tail. I swung open the door to find a stack of letters and one large envelope sitting on my dresser.

The return address was from NYU. I just stool there staring at it. Edward came over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Open it."

I carefully tore open the seal, and pulled out the stack of papers.

_Dear Miss Swan,_

_We are happy to inform you of your acceptance as a student in our English Literature Department at New York University…_

"I got in! I got in!" I yelled and jumped into Edward's arms wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.

He held me tight whispering "I knew you could do it" over and over in my ear.

"Congratulations Bella! I'm so happy for you. Now let's get to the store so that we can get dinner started!" Emmett shouted with the same tone throughout the whole sentence. Rose smacked him in the back of the head. He shrugged it off.

We managed to make it through the store and get our purchases without incident. Not unless you count my boyfriend and his brother running up and down the aisles throwing peanuts from the bulk bin at each other and having to wait outside for Rose and I because the store manager banned them from the store.

"Smells good Bells." Charlie said coming in the front door. "I've missed coming home to that."

"Thanks Dad. How was your day?"

"It was pretty slow. I did get a weird call from Mr. Davies down at the supermarket. He said that he had some _hooligans_ running around his store today. I swear that man is going senile." Charlie scoffed while Edward and Emmett's cheeks got a little pink and I nudged Edward under the table.

Once dinner was over and we were just sitting around the table chatting I brought up summer and my school change.

"Dad? I have some news for you."

"What is it Bells? Did something happen?"

"Yeah kinda. I'm going to transfer schools in the fall. I've been accepted to NYU."

"I saw the letter. I was hoping it wasn't true, but I want you to be happy. You will be so far away from home. NYU is a very expensive school. I don't know if we can afford it."

"Well I still am getting my financial aid for UW and it will increase since NYU is so much more costly. I also got a small scholarship for students with parents in the law enforcement profession, and I still have not heard back on some other scholarships that I have applied to. I really think that I'll be Ok."

"That might cover tuition, but room and board will be very expensive too."

"Yeah Dad about that..." I started. "Edward will be going to school in New York in the fall too. We decided to be roommates…to help with costs." I cringed at that last part waiting for the yelling to begin.

Charlie sighed and looked at both me and Edward eyeing us carefully. "Where are you going to school Edward?"

"Julliard sir."

"What are you a dancer or singer or something?"

Edward laughed. "No, I play piano and compose my own music, or I try to at least."

"Edward is amazing Dad. You should hear him play." I gushed about my boyfriend. "Julliard wants him bad too. They gave him a full ride for all four years."

"That's impressive. Bella I want you to do what makes you happy. I'll try to help out as much as I can."

"Thank you Daddy!" I squealed and ran around the table to hug him. "There is one other thing though…"

"What sweetheart?"

"I want to spend most of my summer in Seattle with my friends. I'll come home too, I just want to be around everybody before I move and won't get to see everyone regularly."

"I understand. Your old man isn't as interesting as a boyfriend and your friends."

"Daaad!" I whined.

"I'm kidding Bells. Have fun with your friends before you go. Just don't stay away for too long. I still want to get some time in before you leave."

Later that night after Rose and Emmett had gone to her house for the night. I laid in bed thinking about the future. I couldn't get over how easy it was to talk my dad into the idea of New York and me living with Edward. I'm glad that my dad seemed to like Edward even though he made him sleep on the couch in the living room. Speaking of sleeping. I couldn't get comfortable no matter what way I laid.

I got up and went downstairs to find Edward lying awake on the couch.

"Can't sleep?" I asked.

"Nope."

I sat down on the couch and laid down in front of him. He lifted the blanket up and covered both of us. He put his arm around me and pulled me into his chest and buried his face in the crook of my neck.

"Much better." He sighed and kissed my shoulder.

Yes, much better.


	15. Chapter 15

I woke up the next morning still in Edward's arms on the couch. I yawned and rolled over to face him. I pushed a lock of his hair away from his eyes and a small smile formed on his lips yet he was still asleep.

I heard the rustling of newspaper from the kitchen and the sound of a spoon stirring in a cup. Charlie was awake. _Crap, Charlie was awake…_

I got up from the couch and made my way into the kitchen and grabbed a mug from the cupboard for coffee.

"Hey Dad." I said while pouring the coffee. "More coffee?"

"No, I'm fine." He said folding up the newspaper. "I wanted to talk to you about something. I didn't want to discuss it in front of your friends."

"Oh, yeah? Ok."

"I don't know how comfortable I am with you living with a boy. I know that you are an adult, but don't you think that maybe this is too soon?"

I knew yesterday was too easy. "I know that you worry about me Dad, but I really think that it will be fine. I really care a lot about Edward, and I think that we have made a good decision."

"Well, I can't say that I would be happy if you were alone in that big city. Just be careful, I don't want you to get hurt."

"I will. I'll call you if I need you to come and beat him up for me." I said rolling my eyes.

"Don't think that I won't Bells. I'll be there in an instant if he hurts you."

The phone started ringing and Charlie picked it up quickly from the table. "Hello?" He asked. "Hey, Mark, you have the information already? That was fast."

I stood up and started making myself some cereal while Charlie was "Hmmm-ing" and "I see-ing" through his phone conversation. I sat back down after pouring the milk and saw that Charlie had a scowl on his face. He finished and hung up the phone and sighed.

"How much about this Edward do you know Bella?" He said as I looked up from the paper on the table. His face was hard.

"What do you mean?"

"You're going to get mad, but I need you to understand that I did this to protect you."

"Did what exactly?" He was making me nervous.

"That was Mark down at the station. You remember Mark don't you?" I nodded. "Well yesterday after you got here and I met your friends I went back to the station and…" He stalled. "…I don't want you to get upset."

"Dad what is it?!" I almost yelled. He still looked serious but I could tell that he did not want to tell me whatever he had 'done'.

"I had him checked out."

"Had who 'checked out' Dad? Edward?"

"Yes Edward." He held up his hands to stop me from speaking. "Now before you say anything I want you to know that we found something." I sat there staring at him with my mouth open. "He has a record. A juvenile record. Of course it's sealed and we can't find out what's in it without a court order, but Bella, this is probably not good."

"No, it's not good. It's exactly what you think." Edward said from the doorway. He had his hands in his hair already. "I'll tell you what's in it, Bella already knows."

Charlie looked at me and I nodded. "Edward has had a rough couple of years." I pulled the chair out from beside me for Edward to sit. He sat and we talked to my father about Edward's past and present. A couple of months ago this wouldn't have been possible. Edward has made a lot of progress dealing with stressful situations, and this was definitely stressful.

Later in the afternoon Edward and I were preparing for when Rose and Emmett would be by to pick us up to head home. My dad caught me in the kitchen while I was grabbing a couple of bottled waters for the trip.

"Thanks for not getting mad at me. I can see that you really do care for each other." Charlie said putting an arm over my shoulders. "I'm glad that he came clean and told me about his past. You don't know how many times I've heard this kind of story and the outcome was not as good."

"I know Dad. I'm not mad. A little disappointed that you didn't trust my judgment, but not mad." I said hugging him tight and patting him on the back.

Emmett and Rose showed up an hour later and we were headed back to Seattle to resume our school lives and prepare for our last tests of the school year.

Finals were this week and that also meant that I would be heading to Forks to spend a week with my dad. Edward and I decided that I could pack up all of my things that I wouldn't need in Seattle and take them home.

Every night Edward and I would scour the internet looking for a place to live once we got to New York. There weren't very many possibilities that were near both schools. Edward's scholarship covered his stay at the dorms, but I obviously couldn't live there so he had talked to the scholarship committee about using that money for an off campus apartment. They allowed it, but the dorms were cheaper than an apartment and we would have to come up with the difference.

The best place that we had found so far would be a furnished studio apartment. It had a bed, a dresser, and a small table and two chairs. It was ridiculously overpriced, but it was all we could afford, and since neither of us had any furniture we couldn't be too picky.

"You are going to get sick of me in less than a week in that small place." I laughed.

"I don't think so. Did you _see_ the schedule that they sent me? I don't even think I'll ever _get_ to see you."

"True. I am going to get a part-time job as soon as possible. Maybe on campus. We'll be living together but I'm going to miss you at the same time."

We were lying in his bed in the moonlit room. "Are you _sure_ you want me to come with you?"

"I wouldn't go without you." He said rolling to his side to face me.

He reached out to cup my cheek before he leaned in to kiss me.

Edward's and my physical relationship never blossomed further than the night in the bathroom. It seemed that anytime we got close we would get interrupted. When we were at his house one of his parents were always around, and I was already a little skittish around Carlisle. I mean, he saw me in just my bikini underwear! At my dorm there was Alice, and sometimes Jasper. The walls in the dormitories were pretty thin and I didn't need the whole floor hearing what was going on in my bedroom. So we settled for just making out. A lot.

As usual during our make out sessions I would slide my hands under Edward's shirt. I know he liked it when I ran my hands over his bare skin. Most of the time he would just forego wearing a shirt to bed. Edward had wandering hands also and I would purposely wear the smallest tank top I owned to sleep in.

Soon we would be living in a new town in our own apartment and not have to worry about angry dads or nosy roommates. It couldn't be soon enough.

The school year finally ended and I was pleased with my results. As predicted, Edward did exceptionally well without hardly trying. If only I had it that easy in school.

Alice and I packed up our dorm and moved her stuff over to Jasper's apartment. All of the things that I wanted to stay in Seattle were moved into Edward's room. Esme was overjoyed that I would be spending most of the summer with them. Carlisle stayed quiet about my arrival. He had a couple of conferences that he was attending out of town and he wasn't going to be home for weeks at a time.

Once my truck was loaded up with boxes I got in and closed the door. I drove over to Edward's to tell him goodbye for the week.

"I'm really going to miss you." He said into my hair, his arms tight around my waist.

"Me too." I sobbed into his chest. "I love you Edward."

"I love you too Bella." I stood on my toes and moved my arms around his neck. He leaned down to kiss me. He deepened the kiss and I could feel all of his love for me through this one kiss. I didn't know how I was supposed to live without him for a week.

I waved at my dad as soon as I pulled into the driveway. "Hey Dad!"

"I'm so glad you decided to spend some time with your old Dad this summer." He chuckled.

Charlie helped me bring in all of my boxes and my suitcase. I sat in my room that night thinking of how much things had changed over the last year. I was going into my second year of college. I was moving to New York. And I was in love with the most amazing person. The thought made me smile. I shook my head to shift my thoughts away from Edward while I collected my things for a shower.

I went to bed early because I was so tired from the drive and lugging my stuff into the house. I really was exhausted, but I still lay awake staring at my ceiling. I looked at the clock and it told me that it was almost two in the morning. I sighed and rolled over.

The next morning I came downstairs and saw that Charlie had already left for work. I milled around the house for most of the morning looking at the familiar things that were in my childhood home. I guess I missed my room the most and all of my books. The funny thing about it though was that I didn't feel that this was my home anymore. It was my dad's house, not mine. I realized that I had not missed this home as much as I missed Edward and Seattle now.

Alice and Rose were coming back to Forks for a week also. They should have arrived sometime last night.

I called Alice. "Alice, what are you and Rose doing today? I can't even concentrate on anything; I need to be distracted immediately!"

"I know how you feel. I'll call Rose and we can have a girl's day and then you two can spend the night. How's that sound?" I knew that she missed Jasper just as much as I missed Edward.

"Ok ladies we are officially pitiful!" Rose shouted through her open car window as she pulled up to Alice's house. Alice and I climbed in and we headed to the video store to grab a couple of movies before we headed to the mall in Port Angeles.

"I can't believe this mall is so small. It didn't seem this small before." Alice complained.

"You've lived in a big city with several malls bigger than this one for a year now. I'm sorry to tell you this Alice, but you've outgrown our hometown mall." I said with a fake frown.

"Oh, but Bella! Wait until I visit you in New York…" She drifted off into space with her eyes wide and didn't finish her sentence. Rose and I almost doubled over in laughter.

I got pulled in and out of every store and was forced to try on several outfits that I would never buy.

"Come on Bella. Live a little. You could use a new outfit." Alice insisted.

"I can't Alice. I'm saving every cent I own for New York." It was true. We needed to save as much money as possible and I was not going to waste it on clothes that I didn't need.

Later after manicures and pedicures (Rose's treat) we headed back to Alice's for the night.

We all cuddled up on the couch under a blanket and started the first movie. It was a horror movie and I don't have any clue as to why we picked it. We were all very tense and were grasping the couch pillows and hiding our faces with them when something scary was about to happen.

The phone rang loudly and the three of us screamed bloody murder.

Alice jumped up and grabbed the cordless phone and ran back to the couch and back under the blanket. "Hello?" She asked before she jumped up off the couch and walked into the kitchen with a big smile on her face.

Jasper.

Less than a few minutes later Rose's cell phone started ringing. She looked at the caller ID and grinned. "Sorry Bella." She smiled at me apologetically and wandered off to another part of the house.

Edward and I didn't have cell phones. I was planning on calling him tonight before it got too late, but I didn't have a phone to use just now. I sighed and switched the lamp on so that I wasn't sitting alone in the dark and started absentmindedly braiding a piece of my hair.

This was turning out to be a long week, and it had only been two days.


	16. Chapter 16

_Finally_ the week that lasted an eternity ended and I was heading back to Seattle. Back to Edward.

I had boxed up a few books and clothes to take back to Seattle. I had to limit what I brought because these would be the things I took with me to New York. We would have limited space in the small apartment that we were renting.

I went down the highway at an excruciatingly slow pace of 55 MPH. My truck couldn't handle much more than that and I didn't want it to break down and make my trip take even longer. I was drumming my fingers on the steering wheel trying to make time go by faster.

Yes, I was pathetic. We both were. After the second day, Edward and I called each other several times a day and the last call would be just before we would both go to bed for the night.

As I drove into the city, I realized that I didn't live in the dorm anymore and that I was actually going to stay with Edward and his family. It seemed strange that I didn't really live here anymore. I would just be a long term visitor in the Cullen home.

We only had about a month and a half before we needed to head out to New York. The plan was to take what we could on the plane and have Emmett ship the rest once we got settled.

I pulled into the Cullen driveway at a little past three on Sunday afternoon. As I got closer to the house I noticed someone lying on the porch swing. Edward. He was waiting for me!

I stopped the truck and turned off the engine. I got out and carefully shut the door to the cab and walked up the steps to the front porch.

Edward was lying on his back with his legs bent because he was too long to stretch out completely on the swing. One of his arms was bent and behind his head and the other was resting across his stomach. I swear that once that boy was asleep it took a miracle to wake him. The sound of my truck could wake the dead but not Edward Cullen.

I sat on the edge of the swing and watched him sleep for a few minutes. His lips were slightly parted and his hair was a wild mess.

"Edward, wake up." I said rubbing his arm. He just took in a big breath through his nose and sighed.

I leaned over putting my face just inches from his. "Ed-ward." Still no response.

I leaned in further and placed my lips on his kissing him gently. I could feel his mouth turning up into a smile before I felt his arms wrap around me pulling me closer.

"Welcome home." He whispered against my lips. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." I sighed.

He sat up and pulled me into his lap never separating our lips. He had one hand placed on my hip and the other tangled in my hair. I held his face in my hands. I felt his tongue brush my bottom lip and I opened my mouth to him.

"Woo Hoo! Rose, do I see tongue?" Emmett yelled from the driveway. "It's getting hot out here!"

I dropped my head to Edward's shoulder. "Every time…" I whispered so that only Edward could hear me. I felt Edward's hand leave my hip.

"Put that finger away little brother before you get hurt." Emmett scoffed.

Edward's other arm released me and I turned to see what he was doing. Edward had a smirk on his face and both of his hands in the air flipping off his brother.

Emmett rushed up the porch steps and grabbed Edward in a head lock. "Step aside little Bella, Mr. Cranky Pants here needs to be taught a lesson!"

Emmett pulled Edward off of the porch and out onto the grass. He was trying to pull him around the side of the house.

"Boys." Rose said as she came to sit on the swing next to me.

"So what are you guys doing here?" I asked watching the brothers struggle against each other on the lawn.

"Carlisle and Esme are out of town, ironically enough, they went to New York, and we thought it would be fun to spend a couple of days over here. Alice and Jasper should be over shortly."

"I didn't know that they weren't here. What do you wa- "I was cut off by Emmett howling in pain.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" He yelled holding the right side of his chest and glaring at a laughing Edward. "That's gonna bruise you dick."

"Don't be such a baby!" Edward said laughing but suddenly got quiet and held up his hands in front of him like he was surrendering.

Emmett looked like a bull seeing a red cape being swished in front of him. He charged forward while Edward retreated backwards. Emmett put Edward into another head lock and forcefully dragged him around the side of the house.

"Well that doesn't look good." I said getting up from the swing and jogging after them.

"Yeah" Rose agreed.

We reached the back of the house to find Emmett about to throw Edward into the swimming pool. Just when it seemed that Emmett was going to be the victorious one, Edward jumped and latched his arms and legs around Emmett and pulled him into the pool with him.

"Fuck!" Emmett wailed as the hit the water. Edward came up from the water and shook his head to get his hair out of his eyes and swam to the side of the pool.

"Lucky for them the pool is heated." Rose informed me. Even though it was summer it was still too cold for swimming. The Pacific Northwest was not known for its great sunbathing weather. Rose and I sat down on a couple of lounge chairs on the far edge of the pool. We didn't want to get splashed by accident, or on purpose for that matter.

Edward pulled himself out of the pool and peeled off his wet t-shirt. His jeans normally hung low on his hips but now with them being heavy with water they were practically falling off exposing the well defined "V" starting at his hips from the front and the top curve of his ass from behind. I don't think he was wearing any underwear.

"Whoa, those Cullen men are hot!" Rose whisper yelled at me.

"I know." I said laughing and pretending to fan my face. Edward looked over at me and winked when he saw what I was doing. I blushed and bit my lip.

Edward sat on one of the lounge chairs that was in the sun and kicked off his shoes and removed his socks before lying back with his hands clasped behind his head.

Emmett walked over to Rose and me. He had removed his shirt also and I understood Rose's comment better. He had his hand on the right side of his chest and he was pouting. "What is it Em?" Rose asked.

"Look what _he_ did." Emmett said pointing over at Edward. He removed his hand to reveal a purple bruise around his right nipple.

Rose and I burst out laughing at the sight.

"It's not funny!" Emmett shouted.

"What's not funny?" Jasper said from the back door.

"Edward gave Emmett a pretty intense 'titty twister'. I think he may be scarred for life." Rose said in mock horror.

"Not funny." Emmett mumbled when it seemed nobody was on his side.

Emmett and Edward changed out of their wet clothes and we ordered pizza. We were all sitting in the living room in our pajamas acting like a bunch of school girls at a slumber party. We decided to watch a DVD.

Rose and Emmett were sitting on one of the couches, Alice and Jasper were cuddled up on the other couch, and Edward and I were laying back in a recliner with a throw blanket over us.

I had missed Edward so much over the last week and I just wanted to be alone with him. After the lights were switched off and the movie was started Edward and I shifted in the chair and were now facing each other. We really didn't care about the movie; we just wanted to be together.

He started kissing and sucking at my neck, and I had my hands rubbing up and down his back under his shirt. He pulled back and looked me in the eyes before bringing his lips to mine in a slow gentle kiss. I was so lost in our small 'make-out' bubble that I forgot that there were four other people in the room.

"Don't make me get the garden hose from the back and spray you two down!" Rose laughed. "Take this little 'sexcapade' upstairs because we don't want to see it!" Everyone except Edward and me started laughing and I just bit my lip. I'm sure that if it wasn't dark in here they could tell that my skin was bright red.

The next morning we were all sitting around the kitchen table eating breakfast. We had forced the boys into making pancakes, but we were sadly disappointed at their lack of cooking skills. So in the end we girls had to cook since we wanted something edible for breakfast.

"So is the plan still the same to get you two to New York?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah. We will pack up everything and have it ready to be shipped before we leave. This reminds me, we still have to get plane tickets." I looked at Edward and he nodded.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could make an adventure out of it." Emmett stated.

We all looked at him waiting for him to clue us into whatever he was talking about.

"We could rent a trailer and I could pull it behind my Jeep. We could drive to New York."

I looked over to Edward to see him shrugging his shoulders. "Emmett you do realize that you have to drive home too?"

"Duh little brother. I just figure that me an Rosie would have fun driving home together. You know, alone."

I glanced between Emmett, Rose, Jasper, and Alice. They seem to have already thought this out before telling us this news.

"Sorry Bella. We can't go." Alice said with a sad look on her face. "I wish we could, but we both have jobs to attend to this summer."

"I think it would be fun." I said to Edward. "What do you think?"

"I'm good with it. But I warn you all right now that riding in a car for more than a couple of hours with Emmett can be somewhat torturous."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Emmett said glaring at Edward.

Rose looked confused too.

Edward sighed. "You'll see."

With this new plan for our move we would have to leave sooner than we were planning. It would take us a few days to get all the way across the country driving. We could all take turns, but I was not one for a nonstop drive. I had to have sleep in an actual bed to rejuvenate myself. I didn't think that a few hours here and there in a car would leave me feeling rested. A car full of four tired people, one who gets agitated easily, one who agitates the former, one that needs a shower and clean clothes to live, and me would not make a fun trip.

Carlisle and Esme returned from their trip a few days later. They seemed to have had a good time, even though it was for some sort of conference that Carlisle had to attend.

Esme was her normal cheerful self. She seemed thrilled to have me in their home. It was weird really. I don't know why, but she was constantly smiling and would hug me for no apparent reason. Carlisle would greet me pleasantly, but usually kept to himself in his study.

The tension in the house was still there. Edward barely said two words to his parents. I would have to relay any important information to them, like our plans to get to New York and where we would be living. I had shown Esme the pictures of the place we had chosen online. She would comment on how exciting it was going to be for us, but she also looked sad and worried. I hated that Edward still had not opened himself back up to them, but he needed to do that on his own time. It wasn't made any easier for him to reconcile with his father, Carlisle was just as distant to Edward as Edward was to him.

A few days before the longest road trip in history took place, Edward and I drove my truck back to Forks to leave it with my father. I also wanted to be able to tell him goodbye. It would be a long time before I would see Charlie again. I would miss him. More so now that he wouldn't be just a few hours away.

Rose and Alice took the trip with us to Forks so that they could drive us back to Seattle in Rose's car.

As I watched my dad disappear as we drove away, I felt a tear slide down my face.

Edward placed his hand on my cheek and wiped away my tear with his thumb. "I love you Bella. Thank you for doing this with me."


	17. Chapter 17

Tomorrow morning we would be heading out for New York. The small U-haul trailer was packed and ready to go. We had mapped out the route that we would take on Mapquest, and it told us that it was approximately a 45 hour drive and over 2800 miles. We decided to make three overnight stops on the way. One in Billings, MT (12hours from Seattle), Sioux Falls, SD (10 hours from Billings), Chicago, IL (10 hours from Sioux Falls), and finally to New York City (12 hours from Chicago).

I couldn't sleep. I was too nervous and excited. I was using Edward for a pillow and was playing with the hem of his shirt. Maybe I should get up and take some cold medicine to help me sleep. I was not going to be any use to anyone if they wanted me to drive at all tomorrow. I sat up and slipped out of bed and padded into the bathroom. I went through the medicine cabinet and all of the drawers and couldn't find anything close to cold medicine or PM pain reliever. So I just took a drink of water and headed back to the bedroom.

Edward had shifted in his sleep to his stomach and had kicked off all of the covers. I stood there for a minute and watched him sleep. Tomorrow we were heading out together to fulfill one of his biggest dreams. I knew that he was excited and I was happy that I would be able to share it with him.

I crawled back onto the bed and started to straighten out the blankets and pull them back over the top of both of us.

"Are you Ok?" He whispered to me in the dark.

"Yeah, I just can't sleep. I'm too hyped up for tomorrow, you know?" I said as I laid down facing him.

He shifted onto his side. "I know what you mean. I can't relax either."

"You looked pretty relaxed a minute ago." I brushed his hair out of his eyes. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"I wasn't really asleep. Scoot over here." I moved closer and turned so that my back was too him. He put his arm around me and buried his face into my neck. I held his hand to my chest. A few minutes later we finally both found sleep.

"Rise and shine sleepyheads!" Emmett boomed marching into Edward's bedroom and jumping up on the bed. "You know what happens today?" He said still shouting. "ROAD TRIP!"

I looked at the clock on the nightstand. 5:00AM. It was still dark outside. Edward and I both groaned.

"It has already begun." Edward mumbled to himself and rolled his eyes.

"We are leaving at six. You two get ready." He said pointing at both of us.

We took turns showering and packed the last of our things into the suitcases that we were using for the trip. I had an extra bag for in the car with our iPods, playing cards, the Nintendo DS's that Emmett got for all of us so that he could 'school' us in Mario Kart, and a couple of books.

Dressed and ready to go we headed downstairs for breakfast. We got to the kitchen and were surprised to see Esme cooking for all of us, and Carlisle at the table reading the paper. It looked like he had just gotten home from the hospital because he was still dressed in surgical scrubs.

We ate and put our suitcases in the trailer that was already hooked up to Emmett's Jeep. I grabbed the pillows off of Edward's bed and a blanket. I was planning on going back to sleep once we were on the road.

The six of us were standing in the driveway saying our goodbyes when Alice and Jasper pulled up.

"We couldn't let you guys leave without saying goodbye!" Alice yelled from the car window.

Alice ran up and hugged me with all of her strength I think. "I'm going to miss you so much." She cried. "You have to call me everyday."

"I will Alice. I promise." I sobbed into her shoulder. "I'm going to miss you too. You have to come and visit soon."

"I will." She said holding onto my shoulders and looking me in the eye. Then she turned to Edward. "You take care of my little Bella Ok?" He nodded and she attacked him with a hug around his waist.

She hugged Emmett and Rose too even though they would be back in a little more than a week. Jasper said his goodbyes as well but with much less enthusiasm than Alice.

I hugged Esme and Carlisle and thanked them for letting me stay over the summer. Esme had tears in her eyes.

We all looked between Edward and his parents. I could see his internal struggle in his eyes. He just stood there at first, his mind working overtime, before he marched out and put his arms around his mother.

Esme instantly reacted by hugging tight to Edward. They stayed in the embrace for a few minutes and all was quiet except for Esme's sobs.

Edward pulled out of the embrace and kissed his mother on the cheek. He didn't say anything; he just wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand.

"Son." Carlisle started. Edward tensed up and his face turned serious. "I understand that this move and this school are what you have wanted since you were a child. Though it is not what _I_ have wanted for you, or what _I_ think would be best for you, but I can see that this is what will make you happy. Believe it or not, I want you to be happy. So with that I want you to go and do your best and I wish you luck. Just remember that you always have a home here, and that I love you." Carlisle reached out to give his son an awkward one armed hug.

Edward's face scrunched up a little and I could see the tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. "Thanks Dad." He whispered.

"Honey we have something for the both of you." Esme said running back into the house and reappearing just seconds later.

She handed us each a small box that was wrapped in 'congratulations' paper. We opened them and found that we now were both cell phone owners.

"We charged them up and they should be ready to go. We all have programmed everyone's number in there already. Now you will not have any reason not to call us."

"Thank you so much for this." I said hugging both Carlisle and Esme again.

We loaded up into the Jeep and headed out towards the freeway. I curled up next to Edward in the backseat and covered both of us with the blanket.

I woke up a couple of hours later to find that we were still in Washington, and a sour face on Edward.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Nothing."

"Oh he's just pissy because I wanted to stop and look at the 'view point' when we went through the Cascades. It was breathtaking. Rose, show her the pictures on the camera." Emmett said.

Rose reached back and handed me the digital camera. There were pictures of the view from the mountains and a picture of Rose beneath a sign that said "View Point-Cascade Mountains: elevation something or other" I couldn't read it from the glare on the camera.

"Did you see these?" I asked Edward.

"I saw the real thing. I saw it for _twenty_ minutes." He growled.

I looked at him with my eyebrows raised.

"You won't look at me like that once we have stopped at every view point, every historical landmark, and have taken all of the 'scenic routes' across the country. We'll be lucky if we make it to New York this week."

"SLUGBUG!" Emmett shouted startling everyone and punched Rose in the arm.

"Emmett Cullen! You did not just hit me in the arm." Rose yelled holding her the spot that Emmett slugged her.

"But it was a 'Slugbug'." Emmett pouted. "It's a game sweetheart."

"It's a game that we will _not_ be playing." She said glaring at him.

"Thank God." Edward said.

Another hour into the ride we all decided to stop and get lunch at a diner on the side of the road.

Once back on the road, Emmett hooked up his iPod to the car stereo. Much to Edward's dismay, Emmett's iPod was full of Rap and R&B songs, and Emmett sang along to all of the lyrics.

I tried to distract Edward from the horrible sounds coming from the front seat by playing the DS's that we brought. It worked. Edward was too competitive for his own good, and it was driving him crazy that he couldn't beat me.

"I win…_again_! Even though I got hit by three 'blue shells'" I said sticking my tongue out at him before the next race began.

"Rainbow Road! Ooh pretty!" I said smiling hugely because I knew Edward hated this track because his car always managed to fall off the edge into space.

I paused the game because Edward's frown was too cute and I had to kiss it off of him.

"Ack! None of that back there. I don't want to watch you two make out all the way to New York!" Emmett shouted to us.

That just made Edward smile and kiss me again. "Keep your eyes on the road or you might miss 'The World's Biggest Ball of Twine' or something stupid." He laughed.

"Just wait little brother. That is on the way you know and I am not going to miss it."

We had left Seattle at six in the morning and it was now eight at night. Fourteen hours after we left home. This first day was supposed to only take twelve hours, but with Emmett's sight seeing and need for food every two hours it took longer than expected. We pulled into Billings, MT and checked into our hotel. We had just booked one room with two beds. The place was full.

After dinner we made it back into the room and just wanted to crash into bed. I talked Edward into swimming with me in the hotel's heated pool. I know that I needed some exercise after being cooped up in the back seat of a car for fourteen hours. Plus I thought it would be good for Edward to work out some of his frustrations with Emmett with exercise.

We went back to the room and changed into some pajamas. Emmett and Rose were already in bed with pillows propping them up against the headboard watching TV.

Edward and I climbed into the other bed and switched off the light on our side. I snuggled into Edward's side and closed my eyes.

I woke up in what seemed a few hours later sweating and found that Edward had kicked off all of the blankets and was just lying there in just his boxers. I swear he went to bed in pajama pants and a t-shirt. Then I heard the loudest snore ever coming from the bed beside us.

I sat up wiping my forehead of sweat and looked down at Edward.

"It's fucking hot in here." He groaned.

"Let's turn on the AC. I can't sleep like this." I whispered back to him.

"I know. It was on, but Emmett must have turned it off. I swear he's just as bad as an old lady."

I crawled out of bed to find the switch for the AC. "I can't see anything." I said feeling around on the wall.

The next thing I knew the light was on and Edward was at the temperature controls with a smirk on his face.

"What are you guys doing? Turn off the light and go back to bed." Emmett whisper yelled so that he wouldn't wake Rose. He looked pissed.

The AC kicked on and I clicked off the light. Edward and I crawled back into bed.

"Now I might not get back to sleep you jerks." Emmett whined. "You made it too cold in here."

"Just let us get to sleep first please. Your snoring is too loud." Edward snipped back. "And it is not too cold."

"I do not snore."

"Be quiet." We both said at the same time.

The next morning and a few Egg Mc Muffins later we were back on the road. Emmett started singing "99 bottles of Beer on the Wall" and we all groaned.

Only twelve more hours to our next stop.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: So if you are my sister reading this: Don't make fun of me. If you are Cyndy reading this: not all of this chapter is 'Cyndy appropriate'. For everyone else; thanks for the reviews and support!**

I was so focused on my book for the last few hours that I didn't even notice that there was no conversation within the car.

I looked up towards the front seats and noticed that Rose looked asleep. Emmett's eyes were focused out the windshield and there was soft music on the radio.

I looked to Edward to see that he was listening to his iPod and was leaning his head back on the seat and looking out of the side window. Studying him further I could tell he was tense. His jaw was clenched and his knee was bobbing up and down rapidly.

I reached over and placed my hand on his bouncing leg. He didn't turn to face me he just put his hand over mine on his leg and stilled the movement.

I closed my book and shifted on the bench seat to get closer to him and pulled one ear bud from his ear. "What are you thinking about so seriously?" He just shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey Emmett, where are we?" I called out to the front of the car.

"We're coming up on Rapid City, South Dakota." He shouted. "It's the halfway mark for today."

I looked at Edward who seemed to have flinched when he heard his brother's voice. "Do you think that we can stop and rest for a while? Get something to eat maybe?" I asked eyeing Edward.

"Sure, I'm always ready for food." He smiled back at me. "I'll take the next exit."

We pulled off the road a few minutes later once we found an exit that looked to have a couple of restaurant choices. I pushed for a sit down place instead of fast food. If I had to eat another greasy hamburger I was going to hurl.

We all jumped out of the car happy to stretch our legs. Rose and Emmett were walking ahead of us and were almost to the door. I took Edward's hand and pulled him off to the side of the entrance. "Get a table, we'll be right in." I told them. They nodded and opened the door and went inside.

"I can tell there is something wrong with you. What's up?" Edward just looked at me and shook his head slightly. I rolled my eyes at him. "Please tell me."

He stayed silent.

"Look, we are only halfway to our destination for tonight." I said rubbing his arm. "We've got about five more hours of sitting in that car."

"I…" He sighed. "Emmett is irritating the hell out of me."

Now we're getting somewhere. "I know me too, but there is not much we can do about it." I said as I slid my arms around his waist and looked up at him with a small smile.

He leaned down and captured my lips in a kiss. And of course like clockwork, just as we were getting in to it…

"You guys, will you stop with all of this Lovey Dovey crap and get in here. I want to order." Emmett whined and stormed back inside.

Edward leaned his forehead onto mine keeping his eyes closed. I rubbed my hands up and down his back a couple of times before I suggested that we go in.

Once we were back on the road, Edward seemed to be a little bit better. Being confined in such a small space for too long was too much for him. At the time, I thought that the trip was a good idea, bonding with his brother and all.

I leaned into his side and whispered in his ear. "We can be annoying too you know." He turned his head slightly in my direction and grinned.

What annoys Emmett? Hmmm…

Before I could come up with anything, Edward turned to me and put his hands on both sides of my face and crashed his mouth to mine. I smiled inwardly and wrapped my arms around him pulling him closer.

"Knock it off back there!" Emmett shouted glaring at us from the rearview mirror.

Edward pulled away from me and leaned in between the front seats. He stretched his arm forward and shoved the rearview mirror off to the side so that it would be impossible for Emmett to see into the back seat or anywhere for that matter.

Edward returned to me and continued from where he left off, but chuckled to himself before giving me his full attention.

We pulled into the motel parking lot and Edward and I released a sigh of relief.

"I hope we can get more sleep tonight." I mentioned to Edward as he was pulling out our suitcase from the back of the trailer. "I don't think I can sleep in that sauna again, and that snoring! Ugh!"

We both looked at each other for a split second before we both started talking. "We'll get us checked in." We said in unison.

Edward and I walked out of the office grinning from ear to ear. At the car I dropped a keycard into Rose's hand. "Room 112." I told her. She looked at me curiously for a second before she picked up her bag and headed towards the room.

I headed down that hallway to our room behind Rose and Emmett. Edward was following me with our suitcase.

Rose slipped the keycard in the slot and opened the door. Emmett pushed past her into the room. Edward and I kept walking. "Where are you going?" Rose asked.

I looked at her and smiled when I brought out another keycard and slid it into the lock on the door next to them and opened the door. Rose stood there looking at me with the 'you'd better explain this' look in her eye; her hands on her hips.

I ushered Edward into the room and closed the door in his confused face while I remained in the hallway.

Rose shut her door too even thought Emmett was saying something to her.

"Why did you get two rooms?"

She had slept through all of the commotion from last night.

"Edward is getting a little…" I didn't want to tell her that Emmett was driving Edward crazy. I didn't need for her to tell on him and make it worse. "…stressed, and I think he needs some time to relax. It's too claustrophobic in one room with four people."

"Ok, let me know if you need anything."

"I will." I hugged her goodnight.

I walked back into the room and Edward was laying back on one of the beds with his arms over his face and his legs hanging off of the side.

"Oh. We each get our own bed. How roomy." I said bouncing up and down on the other bed on my knees.

"Yep." He said kicking off his shoes and scooting up onto the middle of the bed and stretching his whole body out.

"Well I'm gonna change for bed then." I smiled. I went to the suitcase and pulled out some pajamas, a little something that I bought at the vending machine in the lobby when we were checking in, and went into the bathroom.

I slid on my usual tank top and looked at myself in the mirror. I chuckled and rolled my eyes at myself.

I walked back out into the room and threw my pajama pants back on top of the suitcase and went to my bed and pulled back the covers. I looked back over my shoulder to see Edward watching my every move. I turned my face away from him. I knew that I was most likely a little pink in the cheeks.

I climbed into the bed and turned off my light on my side of the room. I turned away from him and faced the wall. "Goodnight Edward."

"Goodnight."

I heard the rustling of what was probably his clothes, the light clicked off, and then silence. Ten minutes must have passed before I heard him whine. "Bellaaa." I tried my best to not laugh, but I couldn't hold it in.

"Are you laughing at me?" I held my hands over my mouth. "You are. You're laughing at me."

Before I knew what hit me, Edward was on top of me and my blankets straddling my legs with his hands on either side of my head. I looked up at his face, but could barely make out his features from the sliver of moonlight that was coming through the curtains. What I could see was that he was practically naked in just his boxers, and my face was burning.

"Just what do you think you are doing over here on _my_ bed?" I scolded.

"If you want me to leave and go and sleep over _there_ all by myself…just say so." He challenged.

"Just get under the damn covers already." And he did.

"Edward?"

"Hmmm?" He hummed against the skin on my neck.

"Today at the restaurant and later in the car…" I started. "…you know when we were kissing. Why don't we do that more often?"

"What do you mean?" He said pulling back to look at my face. "We kiss all the time. I'm kissing you right now."

"I know. It's just…we don't do much more than hold hands in public."

"Bella, I promise to grope you more in public from now on. Ok?"

"Ok." I giggled.

"You're weird."

"But you love me."

"I do." He said continuing his assault on my neck.

He brought his attention back to my lips as his left hand slid under my tank top and up my back. I shivered at the contact, but I was anything but cold.

He pulled his head back and looked me in the eyes silently asking if I was Ok. I nodded and crossed my arms in front of me and gripped the hem of my shirt and wriggled it up and over my head.

I took a hold of his hand and placed it on my bare breast. "You don't even know what you are doing to me." He groaned.

"I think I have a pretty good idea." I said tugging at his hair to pull his mouth back to mine.

Within just a few moments we were both lying together completely naked.

"Wait a minute." I said reaching under the pillows for the thing that I had stashed there when I got into bed and pulled it out and handed it to him.

He raised his eyebrows and chuckled. "These come with the room?" He said inspecting the small box holding two condoms in it.

"Edward." I groaned.

"Are you trying to seduce me Bella?" He smiled. "Because it's working."

I had taken birth control pills since I was fifteen due to an irregular period, but I was still not going to take the risk.

He pulled away from me and tore open the box. Seconds later he was back on top of me settled between my legs.

This was right. This is what we both wanted. All of the fear of this moment that I had was gone. I was completely relaxed and ready. His kisses only reassured me of his love for me, though I didn't need any reassurance.

We locked eyes as he slowly pushed forward. The pain was considerably less than I had expected. Maybe because I wasn't nervous, I was giving myself to him freely with no reservations. I smiled up at him to show him that I was fine, and we began to move together like this wasn't totally new to both of us.

A shock of electricity shot through me originating from where we were connected, and I moaned loudly into his shoulder. I looked to Edward's face in time to see his eyes close tightly like he was in pain, but I knew that it was the complete opposite. He collapsed on me and I could feel his hot panting breath on my neck. After a few seconds he rolled onto his back and his hand found mine, and he weaved his fingers through my own.

We laid there for a few minutes catching our breath before I snuggled up into his side and laid my head on his chest. We didn't speak. We didn't have to. He just held me tight and kissed the top of my head.

The next morning after a long shower we made it to the motel's attached coffee shop. We walked in hand in hand to find Emmett and Rose already sitting on the same side of a booth. We slid in the other side and started to peruse the menu.

I looked up and Rose was examining me from across the table. "What is everyone having?" I asked.

"I'm just getting some yogurt and a fruit plate." Rose said never taking her eyes off of me. "You want the same Emmett?"

"Aw hell no. I'm getting the biggest damn thing on here. I'm starving." Emmett stated as he showed Edward the picture of the food he was ordering.

We finished up breakfast and I headed into the restroom before we hit the road. I was washing my hands when Rose came out of a stall and headed to the sinks.

"So…" She started. "What's with Edward and that goofy grin he's been sporting all morning?"

"A good mood?" I said in the form of a question raising one eyebrow.

"I don't know Bella. Why don't you tell me?" Her hands were on her hips at this point.

I wasn't ashamed of what we had done. I just wasn't ready to share all of the details that she would want from me. I would wait until we had Alice on the phone or something; I didn't want to have to repeat it over and over like a gossip crazed teenager. I wanted it to remain private between Edward and me. For now at least.

I shrugged my shoulders and left the restroom.

One more night on the road and 22 hours later we had finally reached New York.

We drove around in circles for what seemed like hours looking for our new apartment.

"Damn it Emmett, let me see the directions!" Edward shouted again from next to me. He was getting agitated again with Emmett's driving and lack of direction. Edward was doing really well up to about six hours ago. The memory of the night in Sioux Falls had lingered in him until then. We had been forced to share a room in Chicago due to the price. Chicago was expensive.

"Here it is!" Rose exclaimed pointing at a building that looked nothing like the apartment we had rented. Oddly enough there was a loading zone in the front of the building. We pulled in and parked the Jeep. Emmett jumped out of the car and headed inside.

"Rose I don't think that this is it. In fact, I'm about 100% sure of that." I said with my head between the front seats. Edward was sitting with his arms crossed in front of him looking rather pissed.

A few minutes later, Emmett emerged from the building with a smile on his face dangling some keys.

I looked at Edward and he looked just as confused as I felt. "This is it." Emmett informed us through the window shaking the keys in one hand. "Come on."

I climbed out of the car and looked up at the tall brick building. It wasn't as tall as some of the buildings but it was at least eight stories high. "They should have taken better pictures for their website. It looks much better in person."

Edward still looked skeptical even though Emmett was holding keys to the place.

We walked into the lobby and I was still amazed that this could be the same apartment from the pictures that I have seen. There was a big desk like a fancy hotel lobby with a fountain in the middle of the room.

We headed straight for the elevators and got in once the doors opened. Emmett hit the '8' button and the doors closed.

The elevator opened to a wide hallway with several apartment doors. Emmett headed to the door marked '810' and inserted the key and opened the big door.

Emmett and Rose's faces had huge smiles plastered on them and they walked into the room and stepped to the side.

I took Edward's hand and we followed them in. My mouth fell open and I let out a little squeak before I covered it with my hand.

Standing in the middle of the room were Edward's parents.

Esme ran over to us and put her arms around both of us the best that she could. "Surprise!" She announced when she let us go.

I looked around the room to find out that it was actually a loft. One whole side of the room was a huge window with glass doors that lead out to a balcony. There was a big open kitchen with silver appliances and granite counter tops. The floors were hard wood and there were columns throughout the large open room. There were a couple of doors on one wall, and a set of stairs was on one side of the living area.

"What's going on?" I asked as I looked into one of the doors to find a small bedroom. The other door was a large bathroom.

"After seeing where you two were planning on living, we decided to _invest_in an apartment for you for your stay in New York." Carlisle spoke up. "We wanted to help you out."

Edward stood in stunned silence. Did I mention that the place was furnished?

"I don't know what to say." Edward said quietly.

"Just say 'thank you Mom and Dad' and give your mother a hug." Carlisle smiled.

"Thank you." And he hugged Esme until she started laughing.

"Anything for you, baby." She said kissing his cheek.

"Well let's see what's upstairs." I said grabbing Edward's hand and pulling him towards the steps.

Upstairs was a bedroom loft. Our bedroom. It had a king sized bed and a large walk-in closet. The bathroom was all marble and had a huge Jacuzzi tub and a separate shower.

"I could get used to this." I told Edward wrapping my arms around his neck. He smiled and I stood up on my toes and kissed him.


	19. Chapter 19

While the boys were unloading the trailer, Esme, Rose, and I were making a list of things we would need from the grocery store.

"How was the trip?" Esme asked while writing down the basic items that are needed in the kitchen.

"Slow. I thought that we would _never_ get here." I said looking over my list. "Esme, have I thanked you for this fantastic apartment in the last five minutes?"

"Yes dear, I think you have." She chuckled patting my hand.

Emmett and Rose were planning on staying the night and then driving up to Niagara falls for a couple of days before heading back to Washington. Carlisle and Esme had booked a hotel not far from the apartment and were planning on leaving in the morning. They wanted to be there for Edward's 'Parent and Student' orientation that was to be held tomorrow night, but were unable to change their plans at the last minute.

Carlisle, Emmett, and Edward brought in the last of the boxes and all came into the kitchen for some water.

Edward took a big drink off of my water bottle and placed it back on the counter in front of me. "Put down Pop Tarts. Strawberry." He said reading my list over my shoulder. I wrote it down.

After we were all cleaned up and refreshed, Edward's parents took us all out to dinner. We had called and made a last minute reservation, but we still had to wait in the lobby for a few minutes before our table was ready.

Carlisle was outside on his phone, Emmett was studying the menu, and Esme and Rose were deep in conversation sitting on one of the benches. Edward and I were on the other side of the entrance standing together. The restaurant lobby was full leaving very little room.

I had slipped my arms around Edward's back under his jacket while he held me with one of his hands on the small of my back and the other caressing my cheek. He leaned down and placed soft kisses on my lips. I smiled up at him before I rested my head against his chest facing his family.

When I looked over to where they were sitting, I noticed Esme's eyes on us, smiling before she turned her attention back to Rose.

After about twenty minutes our name was finally called, and we were seated. We were placed in a large semi-circle booth with Carlisle and Emmett on each end and Esme, Rose, Edward and I in the middle.

The waitress came by to take our drink orders, and the whole time she was eyeing up Edward and Emmett. Rose gave her the bitchiest look I've ever seen and the waitress seemed to get the hint that our boys were off limits.

"What are your plans now that you are in New York? You have a few days before school starts." Carlisle asked Edward.

"Tomorrow morning Bella has to get registered for her classes, and we were planning on checking out the NYU campus for a while."

"I don't want to get too lost on my first day." I added. "We are going to look for all of my classes and check out the library and stuff."

Edward was looking in my direction with a grin on his face and placed his hand on my thigh. I placed my hand over his and pressed my fingers between his.

We ordered and our meals came and we continued a comfortable conversation for the rest of the evening.

Carlisle and Esme headed to their hotel after dinner and the rest of us headed over to the loft.

Rose and Emmett were set up in the guest bedroom downstairs and Edward and I headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

Edward sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off his shoes. "I still can't believe my parents bought this place for us." He looked around the room shaking his head.

"It does seem unbelievable, but they _are_ your parents." I said. "They really do love their 'baby boy'." I pinched his cheek.

Edward looked at me and rolled his eyes.

"What?" I said sitting down beside him. "You are the youngest, and besides Esme always calls you 'baby'."

"That's new you know? She never called me that _before_." He said looking down at his hands.

He never discussed what happened while he was in that facility. I had only heard about what got him there, and I'm sure I never really heard that whole story either. It was hard for him to talk about. So he never did.

I changed into one of Edward's t-shirts and a pair of shorts and Edward stripped down to his boxers before we climbed into our new bed.

He was still being quiet after bringing up his past. We laid down facing each other. "Come here." I told him and he rested his head on my chest and put his arm around me while I combed my fingers through his hair.

I woke up in the middle of the night with my throat dry. Edward's head was lying on the pillow next to mine and he still had his arm over me.

I lifted his arm and slid out of bed. I headed downstairs to the kitchen for some water. I was shocked to find Rose sitting on the couch covered in a blanket in the living room.

"Can't sleep Rose?" I questioned. She looked up at me and shook her head. I continued into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge.

I sat down on the couch and propped up my feet on the coffee table taking a drink. I held the bottle out to her and she shook her head again.

"Emmett is _snoring_." She said looking at me. I started to laugh quietly. "What?"

"Seriously Rose? You have not heard that before?"

"No, I usually fall asleep before he does, or I guess before he starts snoring." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Emmett was driving Edward crazy with all of the snoring and the heat on in the room. That's why he was so cranky; he didn't get a lot of sleep on the trip."

"Really? I had no idea." I looked at her with my mouth hanging open.

"So why are you down here?" She asked. "Is Edward an annoying sleeper too?"

"Nope, I was just thirsty." I grinned. It seemed that I got the best pick out of the Cullen boys.

"He really doesn't do anything irritating?" She said tilting her head to the side with a disbelieving look.

"Meh, sometimes he kicks off all of the covers and leaves me freezing. He gets a little warm when he sleeps, that's why he kept complaining about the temperature in the motel rooms." I chuckled. "No weird noises or snoring or anything. He always has to be touching me, but I certainly don't mind that."

"So that reminds me." She started. "What happened the night we were in Sioux Falls?"

Luckily it was dark in the room or she could see the flush of color rising in my cheeks. "Nothing, I don't know what you mean."

"Come on Bella. Something went on. I could tell. Spill it." She demanded.

I looked at her and bit on my bottom lip. "We finally 'slept' together." I said rolling my eyes and then looking down at my hands fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold out the information for long. I was surprised that I kept it away from her for two days.

"You mean to tell me that the two of you have been sleeping in the same bed for months and have never had sex?"

"Yep pretty much." I still was not looking at her face.

"Wow. I had no idea." She said it like it was the most absurd thing ever. "Well? How was it? I mean, it being _your_ first time and all." She seemed concerned like she was my mother.

"Good? I guess. I really have nothing to compare it to." She chuckled a little.

"It only gets better from here on out." She added patting my leg. "So was it his first time too?"

I thought for a moment. We had really never talked about it before. I had assumed that it was, I mean, he had been secluded away from girls for like two years and he had just barely turned sixteen before he went in.

"You know Rose, I don't know." I was actually shocked about this realization. I knew some pretty personal stuff about Edward, but I knew nothing about past girlfriends or sexual history.

"Well maybe you should ask him." She said wide-eyed. "This is something that couples talk about."

I nodded. "I'm going to head back to bed. It sounds quiet from your room now, maybe the snore fest has died down and you can get some sleep."

I headed back upstairs and found that Edward had shifted to his stomach and had his face half smashed into his pillow, one arm shoved under his head and the other lying along his side. As usual the blankets were shoved to the end of the bed.

I smiled and picked up and straightened the sheet and blankets out and covered both of us before lying down close to him and rubbing my hand over his back. He sighed and smiled in his sleep.

"I don't want to wake them." A female voice said in my dream. "They look too cute."

"I want to say goodbye before we head to the airport. I know you do too, it will be three months before you get to see them again." A man's voice said. "I'll wait downstairs."

I slowly woke from my sleepy haze and felt Edward curled up behind me. He had his arm around me but his hand was under my shirt and flat on my stomach and he had one leg over mine. The blankets were actually still covering both of us.

I felt a small shake. I opened my eyes slightly to find Esme trying to wake her son. "Edward baby, wake up." She cooed while gently shaking his shoulder.

"Esme, you would need five tons of TNT to wake this kid up." I said clearing my throat and sat up unwrapping myself from Edward's grasp.

"Oh honey I didn't mean to wake you. It's just Carlisle and I are going to head out to the airport in a few minutes and we stopped by to say goodbye."

She went back downstairs and after six tries I finally managed to get Edward awake and out of bed.

The six of us were standing in the living room saying our goodbyes to each other. Rose and Emmett were dropping Edward's parents off at the airport before they headed out to Niagara Falls.

After all the hugging and tears we were about to shut the door and Esme turned to us and told us that we should be expecting a big delivery tomorrow. She wouldn't be specific on what it was but that it was a surprise.

While Edward was in the shower, I gathered up all of my paperwork for school. I had an appointment with a counselor so that they could help me choose my classes for the semester.

We left the loft and headed in the direction of my school. We had really lucked out in the fact that our schools were only a few miles away from each other and our home was in the middle.

The weather was fairly nice and we had time so we decided to walk. I linked my arm with Edward's and almost bounced like Alice all the way there. Earning a few chuckles and eye rolls from Edward.

We grabbed coffee and muffins on our way. I was overwhelmed at the size of the campus. We had to look at one of the maps and ask two people where to go before we finally found the right office.

The counselor was very informative and helped me decide on my classes and point me in the right direction for the next semester. I left the office feeling a little more comfortable about my college future.

After touring around the campus and spending an hour in the library we headed home to get ready for Edward's orientation.

Basically it was a meet and greet with the teachers and a chance for the parents of the students to ask questions and tour the facility. I think it was mostly for the parents, the students had another meeting on their first day before classes began.

I dressed warmer than earlier. It got colder in the night and we wouldn't be home until after dark.

Inside of the school there were quite a few students and parents already looking around. Edward and I walked in hand in hand and wandered through the crowd in the lobby.

"Are you excited?" I asked him. "I'm excited and I'm not even a student here."

"Excited, nervous, happy…all of the above." He said squeezing my hand.

"I wish your parents could have stayed. I think that they would have been interested in asking a few questions."

"Yeah maybe. They've hated the idea for so long; I don't really see them being that interested."

"They may not be happy with your choice, but I think that they have decided to go along with it since they want you to be happy. They want you to be in their lives."

"It seems that the do."

We continued to look around a few more minutes and then I saw her. At first I couldn't place her because we were in strange unfamiliar surroundings. But then when she flipped her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder, I recognized her. Our waitress from the Italian restaurant in Seattle.

She was standing with a man and a woman that were very similar to her. Her parents, I would guess. The man was tall with salt and pepper hair and the woman was also tall and had dark auburn hair.

"What is _she_ doing here?" I questioned nobody in particular.

"Who?" Edward asked.

"Her." I said casually pointing in her direction.

"Huh?" He seemed to be just as shocked as I was. He looked down at me and raised his eyebrow at me. "I have no idea who that is Bella."

But then another girl walked over to them. She looked slightly older than our waitress, just by a few years, and she had the same auburn hair as her mother.

I felt Edward stiffen and his jaw locked. His happy face that he has had since this morning turned into a scowl.

"What? What is it?" I asked as he pulled me in the other direction.

"Nothing." I was about to question him more but the school representative called to have us sit in a small auditorium.

As the speaker talked about what the school had to offer and all of the programs that were available to the students, Edward zoned out. He sat so still and his eyes stared at the back of the seat in front of him.

After the speaker was finished we were immediately separated between 'parent' and 'student', and put in separate rooms.

I was getting worried. His mood was freaking me out. I tried to get his attention, but we were separated and the door to the classroom I was supposed to be in closed.

I noticed our waitress's parents and the other red headed girl at the end of my row. They looked proud of their student, but they also acted like they owned the place.

The school representative, who was called Sharon, started talking about how the classes worked, what the students would be doing, and the dorms. She talked about performances that would be held throughout the year including a Christmas production that included all of the departments (Music, Theatre, and Dance), and a final production at the end of the year.

All of the parents had several questions for Sharon. When she would call on them she would ask the name of the student they were with. She would look at her list, find their name and major and continue.

"How safe will it be for our student here? We got her a private room, but now I'm thinking that we should have gotten her her own apartment." The salt and pepper man said. "The dorm rooms are _very_ small and not that nice."

"What is your student's name?" Sharon asked.

"Tanya Denali." He stated like we should all know her. _That's_ what her name was.

"Hmm…Tanya, yes here she is, she's a vocalist a singer?" Sharon said skimming her list.

They continued their discussion. I couldn't pay attention to them. I really didn't care how beneath their daughter it was to stay in a dorm. All I could think about was Edward's sudden mood change. What had happened?

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Sharon trying to get my attention. "Miss?"

"Um…yes?" I answered.

"Did you have any questions? You are the only one who hasn't said anything. Who are you here with?" She rambled on.

"My boyfriend. Edward Cullen." I told her, and looked around feeling embarrassed to be singled out. The red headed girl snapped her head in my direction and looked me over from head to toe.

"Ah…Edward, piano. You know we've been waiting for him for a couple of years?" She said smiling. The funny thing was; she didn't even look at her precious list. She knew who he was immediately. I felt proud, but couldn't get over the girl that was staring so intently at me.

After the long Q & A session we headed out into the lobby to meet with the students. We were supposed to mingle with everyone and then it would be over.

Edward came out of the room the students had been in and grabbed my hand and practically yanked me out of the building.

"Ow, what the hell is going on?" I demanded. He just kept marching on towards our home.

He pulled me all the way back to the loft without a word, into the elevator, and inside our home.

"Edward?"

He sat on the couch and while on hand was running through his hair the other was pinching the bridge of his nose.

I sat down carefully on the couch next to him and waited quietly for the explanation that would eventually come.

He let out a breath that he had probably been holding since we left the school and slid his hands down his face and into his lap. He turned his face to me and he had that worried confused look on his face that he had the day that I first saw him.

"Victoria."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I know two days in a row! That's what happens when you get layed off from your job and you have nothing else to occupy your time. As always: Thanks so much for the reviews and encouragement!**

Victoria? Who the hell is Victoria?

"Edward what's going on?" I asked him. "Who is Victoria?" And why are you so freaked out? I wanted to add.

"She's James' girlfriend from back in Seattle. I have no idea why she is here." He said with his eyebrows furrowed.

It's still a little foggy but it's getting clearer. This Victoria was one of the group that Edward had hung out with in high school; the ones that sold him drugs.

"She was with that girl you pointed out." He squinted his eyes at me trying to remember.

"You don't remember her do you? Her name is Tanya Denali. She was the waitress from the Italian restaurant that we went to." I told him.

"Denali? Are you sure?" He asked. I nodded. "She must be Victoria's sister or something."

It seemed that even though we were 3000 miles away from home, Edward could not escape his past and move on. What are the odds that this Victoria would show up in New York?

I scooted closer to him and put my hand at the nape of his neck. "Tell me about her."

"I met them when I was a freshman and they were juniors. I didn't think that much of them, all I knew was that they were partiers and caused trouble at school.

"It wasn't until I looked to James for 'help' that I started to know them. They were pretty nice to me, but I now realize that it was because I was their customer and I spent money. I went to James every week, and where James was Victoria was not far away. She treated me like no other girl had before. She would put her arm around my shoulders and act like she really cared about me. She would wink at me in the hallways, and touch my arm any time that we passed. I was fifteen and I was an idiot, but I ate it up.

"After my parents made me turn down Julliard and I stopped caring about school or anything else for that matter, I went back to them to let them know that I wouldn't need their services anymore.

"James thought that I should try something else that they offered, and like an idiot, I tried it. I told you about that part. I found that it was easier to just be numb and not feel anymore."

Edward shifted on the couch so that he was turned towards me and had his head lying on the back of the couch facing me. I took one of his hands and held it between both of mine.

"So she flirted with you, and helped sell you drugs?" I wanted to coax him into continuing.

"Yeah." He continued. "She did." He looked down at our hands and sighed.

I reached up and placed my hand on his cheek. "You can tell me, you know? If you don't want to, it's Ok too."

"No, you should hear this." He said still looking down. "But I don't think you'll…see me the same again. This is something that I should have told you from the beginning, but I didn't want you to run away screaming. This is one of those things that…I'm most ashamed of."

"Edward whatever it is it will be Ok. I may be shocked or something, but I will still love you. I promise."

"Maybe, but you haven't heard it yet." He finally said looking at me with sad eyes.

I returned my hand to his cheek and leaned in and kissed him. I pulled away and rested my forehead against his. "Tell me." I whispered.

I had no idea what secret Edward was so ashamed of. I was telling him the truth though about still loving him. I was a little scared that he would push me away after this confession, but now I needed to hear it.

"I started hanging out with James at his house. He lived in a small condo on his own even though he was in high school. His parents lived somewhere else in town and they left him alone to do what he pleased. I was envious of him. I wanted my parents to let me live the way I wanted to also.

"James had a party going all the time. There were always people at his house drinking or using. I was happy to be included. The first time I ever got drunk was with James and Victoria. They had another friend Laurent that was around a lot too. I didn't really know him very well.

"Every night we would sit around and drink. Victoria continued to mess with me. I was a little confused why James didn't seem to care, but I was so messed up most of the time I didn't care either.

"One night Victoria and I were sitting on the couch in the house and everyone else was outside in the backyard. We had been drinking pretty heavily and I remember I was feeling really sleepy. She asked me if I wanted to try something new. Of course I did.

"She told me to open my mouth and she placed a small pill on my tongue. I swallowed it with something that she handed me. I seriously didn't know what was going on. I was almost already 'black out' drunk. Then, she started kissing me. I knew that she was James' girlfriend, but I didn't care at that point."

He stopped talking and looked at me to gauge my reaction and continued.

"Things started to get fuzzy and my head was spinning. All I remember after that are flashes. I must have passes out off and on. I regained consciousness at one point to find that I was practically naked. My shirt was off and my pants were undone and she was still with me. Then the next thing I know I'm laying in my front lawn and everything is fucking hilarious all of a sudden. That was the night that I ended up in the hospital and had my stomach pumped."

"Y- you slept with Victoria?" I stammered.

He looked at me with pleading eyes and almost whispered. "I'm not sure. I don't remember."

Oh. My. God. I was so mad. Not at Edward, but at that _girl_. She clearly took advantage of him. I swear if I ever see her again I will commit murder. How dare she treat my Edward like that! My mind was going a mile a minute with this information, and not until I felt the couch shift did I realize I had been silent and not looked at Edward.

He got up and started to walk away. I grabbed his hand and pulled him back down to the couch. "I told you that you wouldn't like what you heard." He said and started to leave the couch again.

"No. I don't like it." I told him and I straddled his legs so that he couldn't escape from me. "I'm sorry that she did that to you." I said taking his face in my hands. "She knew what she was doing. She knew you were drunk and she drugged you. You didn't stand a chance."

So many emotions were running through his face. Fear, disgust, worry, shame, and finally love. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me so tight. I returned the embrace by putting my arms around his neck.

Edward started kissing my neck and shoulder and I could feel the wetness of his tears on my skin. I pulled my head back and I started kissing his lips with as much passion as I had for him.

My hands went from his face, down his neck and chest. I slowly started to unbutton his shirt. Our lips broke apart and I continued kissing his face and neck.

Once his shirt was completely unbuttoned, I slid my hands under and pushed it off of his shoulders revealing his perfect chest to me.

With my forehead to his, I watched as my fingers slid over his skin and giggled at his ticklishness when I skimmed my fingertips over his stomach.

With his hands on my waist, he gripped the hem of my shirt and I lifted my arms over my head so that he could remove it. In one swift motion my shirt was over my head and on the floor next to us. I felt him reach behind me and slide his hands up my back and over my bra. When he got a confused look on his face I threw my head back and laughed.

When I regained my composure I gave him a mischievous grin and brought both of my hands to the front of my bra and snapped the clasp open but held it closed. Realization dawned on him and he laughed at himself but stopped short when I let go of my bra and shrugged it off on to the floor behind me.

This wasn't the first time he had seen me topless, but this time we were going slower and the living room light was on. My face burned with my blush.

"You're beautiful Bella." He breathed before touching my breast. He placed light kisses over the path that his hand was taking, and when he reached my nipple and took it into his mouth, I closed my eyes and arched my back into him.

He looked up at me and I brought my lips to his in another searing kiss. His hands went for the button of my pants and I did the same. I pulled away from him and stood between his legs to remove my pants and underwear. He sat forward on the couch and ran his hands from my waist over my hips and down the front of my thighs and back up the back of my legs and over my bottom. He kissed my hip bone and skimmed his nose across to the opposite side and kissed there too.

Feeling that we were a bit uneven in the clothes area, I leaned over and finished unbuttoning his pants. He lifted his hips off of the couch and I tugged his pants and boxers to his knees before he kicked them off the rest of the way. He sat back on the couch and I placed my knees on either side of his legs. His hands went immediately to my thighs and I reached out and touched him for the very first time.

He let out an audible hiss and threw his head back against the couch. I smiled at the reaction I got just by barely touching my fingertips to him. I leaned my head into the crook of his neck and wrapped my hand around him and began to watch myself stroke him. I must have been doing something right because his fingers dug into my thighs and he moaned into my hair.

Just after a few seconds he pushed my hands away and came into his own palm. I raised my head to look at his face. He was breathing heavily and his facial features were smooth and relaxed. He opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at me. "So…what are you gonna do with _that_." I smirked and shifted my eyes to his hand when I said 'that'. I held onto his side and leaned over to the end table and grabbed the Kleenex box that was there and held it up to him.

After cleaning himself up we began kissing again. "Make love to me Edward." I said into his lips. He started to shift to get up, but I pushed him back into the couch. "Here." I told him and he nodded.

Since I was still straddling him, I grabbed his shoulders and lifted up on my knees hovering over him. "Help me." I whispered to him. He held himself with one hand and guided me onto him with his hand on my hip.

When I woke up the next morning we were both still naked but I was way more comfortable than if we were still on the couch. Half of my body was draped over Edward and he had his arms around me.

I opened my eyes to find that we were in our bed upstairs. I smiled thinking that Edward had to have carried me up here after we had fallen asleep together on the couch after our evening of 'love making'. I smiled at the memory.

I was brought out of my daydream by a loud knock on the door and the ringing of the doorbell. We have a doorbell? Huh? I didn't even know.

"Edward." The bell rang again. "Edward!" I said more frantically. He opened one eye to look at me.

"Hmmm?" He hummed and closed his eye again.

"Someone's at the door!" He opened both eyes now and sat up a little.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

He groaned but got up nonetheless. He picked up a pair of jeans that were lying on the floor and put them on and headed down the stairs.

I crawled out of bed noticing the burn in my thigh muscles from last night's activities. I pulled on his t-shirt and put on some underwear from my dresser drawer. I went to the edge of the loft and looked down over the ledge.

Four men came in with one huge crate and another smaller one. Edward looked at the invoice that the men gave him and he gestured to an open area of the living room next to the window wall. Edward turned and looked up at me from below with a gigantic lop-sided smile on his face.

The men started unpacking the crate with small crow bars. Once opened and I saw what was inside my heart swelled and I clapped my hands over my mouth in surprise.

Carlisle and Esme had a piano delivered to us. They had said that we should be expecting a delivery today. I had no idea that this is what it was going to be.

After an hour or so the men finished and left the loft. I ran downstairs and hugged Edward from behind.

"I can't believe they sent you a piano." I almost shouted.

Edward walked forward and bent over to look under one side of the instrument. "It's not just any piano Bella, it's _my_piano." He said in awe. "See under here?" He pointed under the side and I crawled under to see. "My initials, EAC. I put them there when I was ten. This is my piano."


	21. Chapter 21

Edward stood in awe in front of his piano. I don't think he ever expected his parents to do anything as extravagant as this. I think that he felt that this was a bigger gesture towards his parents accepting him than the apartment.

He slowly made his way over to the piano bench and sat down in front of the keys.

I walked around behind him and couldn't hold in my laugh. "If becoming a composer doesn't work out for you, you can always become a plumber. You've got the sagging pants part of it down pat." He gave me a mock hurt look before he stood up and adjusted his loose pants.

He ran through a couple of scales with a grimace on his face. "Ugh! It needs to be tuned."

"It sounds fine to me. You're just a piano snob. Play a real song." I told him and he began to play something famous that I had heard before, but I had no clue as to what it was called.

He only played for a minute before he stopped. "I can't take it, it's horrible. I'll have to find a piano tuner ASAP."

He was still messing with different keys like he was trying to prove his point when I put my arms around his shoulders and told him that I was going to take a bath.

I headed upstairs and collected my clothes for the day and brought them into the bathroom. I was kind of excited to try the Jacuzzi tub for the first time. I sorted through the different scents of bubbles that Esme and Rose had picked out while we were shopping the other day. Once I found a smell that I liked I turned on the faucet and filled the oversized tub.

I pulled my hair up in a messy bun on top of my head and stripped off Edward's t-shirt and my underwear and slipped into the warm bubbles. I almost disappeared into the bubbles when I laid back to relax. I could hear different melodies coming from downstairs each blending in with the other one. Tuned or not, Edward couldn't resist the call that the instrument had to him.

I was slowly nodding off to sleep when I heard the bathroom door open and click shut. I opened my eyes to find Edward sitting on the side of the tub with his hand swishing in the water.

I smiled at him. "You could get in if you want, but I'm telling you now that I am relaxing in here and if you can't control yourself you can't come in."

"I can control myself." He smirked. "It is you that needs to watch yourself. I'm very well behaved." And with that he removed his jeans and started to climb in.

"Hey, you sit over there." I said pointing at the other end of the tub. He pouted but did what he was told. Since he was much longer than me his knees poked out of the top of the water.

I pulled my knees up and grabbed his ankles under the water and pulled his legs out so that they were on either side of me. Then one by one I placed my legs over the tops of his.

"See? You can't keep your hands…or feet to yourself." He snickered.

"Be nice or you have to get out." I said tapping his chest with my toe. He grabbed my foot and started massaging it. "Mmmm…"

Only a few minutes later after he massaged my other foot he started shifting around. I opened my eyes to see him sitting up and trying to make some sort of bubble sculpture. He caught my gaze and shrugged. "I'm bored." I rolled my eyes and sat up and pulled out the hand held nozzle and turned on the water.

"Come here I want to wash your hair. It looks ridiculous and will never behave if you don't get it wet."

He leaned forward and closed his eyes and I held the nozzle over his head and thoroughly wet his hair. I reached over and took the new bottle of my shampoo that I had just bought and hadn't put away yet. I poured a little in my hand and rubbed it over his head.

I giggled as I gave him a shampoo Mohawk. "You're cute." I told him when I was done.

He grabbed the shower nozzle, turned on the water and smiled wickedly at me. "My turn."

"No don't! I don't want my hair wet." He grinned and came closer with the spray. "Stop it!" I almost screamed. And before he got to me he turned the spray to his own head and rinsed out the soap.

We lounged around all day after the bath. I made dinner and we watched one of the many movies that Alice had sent with us on the move. She was sad that she and Jasper didn't get to make the trip across the country with us and had sent us a care package in the trailer.

Monday morning came and with it came the first day of school. The alarm went off and I practically jumped out of my skin.

I had class Monday through Thursday from ten until two except on Wednesday when I had a lab until four. Edward had class Monday through Thursday all day, nine to five, and a half a day on Friday where he would be done by one.

_Two months later…_

It was now early November and it almost felt like I lived alone. Edward was always at school for classes or rehearsing. School was going fine for me; I only struggled with this stupid chemistry class that was required to graduate.

When Edward was home he was always working on his piano if he wasn't sleeping. Sleep always took second chair to his music.

He was composing a full length piece for a class that lasted the entire school year. He sat at his piano all day on the weekends. I liked to watch him from the couch where I would be reading from my text book.

He would play a few notes over and over making slight changes before writing it down on the paper in front of him. Then he would erase it and start over. He concentrated so hard that his face would scrunch up when he didn't like something or a little smile would play on his lips if he did.

I made dinner every night to make sure that he was eating. At bed time I would settle into bed alone and listen to the smooth melody coming from downstairs that would eventually lull me to sleep. I would wake up in the morning to find him sprawled out on the couch or with his head down on the piano sleeping.

Today was Friday and I was going to surprise Edward and meet him after his class for lunch, walk home with him and make him take a night off from practicing. I missed him and I wanted, no _needed_, to spend some time with him.

I walked in the building and headed down the hall where I knew the music department classrooms were. I knew I was getting close because I could hear the familiar melody in the hallway. I stopped short when I saw Tanya and a couple of girls standing outside of his doorway.

I didn't want her to see me so I stood back into the doorway of the next classroom.

"He's so hot Tanya." One of the girls said. "Are you really going to go out with him?"

"Of course!" Tanya stated. "Since we have been working on that project together for the winter showcase we've gotten pretty close, if you know what I mean." She said suggestively winking at the other girls.

The winter showcase? Yes I knew what that was, and I knew that Edward had to perform in it. All first years do, but with Tanya? He didn't bother to tell me this. Was this why he came home so late all of the time? Was he seeing her on the side? She was so beautiful. Did Edward think so too?

The music stopped and Tanya and the girls rushed in the room. I made my way out of my hiding place and went to the classroom door that they all disappeared into.

Edward was still sitting at a piano and all of the girls were clapping. Tanya went behind him and started rubbing her hands up and down his arms and shoulders. Edward was _smiling_.

"That was beautiful Eddie!" She crooned pressing herself into his back. Edward was still smiling.

Tanya started massaging his shoulders and neck and her hands were heading up into his hair. Oh hell no!

I practically ripped the door off its hinges opening it and it slammed loudly against the wall.

I stepped inside of the room and gave Tanya Rosalie's 'Bitch Glare' with all of the anger that I had inside of me.

Edward stood up shrugging off Tanya and started walking towards me with his signature crooked smile which faded when my eyes shifted to him and my glare didn't soften.

I turned on my heel and headed out the door and down the hall. My eyes were already starting to fill up with tears and I didn't want Tanya or anyone else see me cry so I ran from the building and darted down the street towards home. I heard Edward call out my name, but I ignored him and kept running.

I reached our front door and couldn't seem to get a good grasp on my keys and get them inserted in the lock. After dropping them twice because I was shaking so hard, I gave up and fell against the door with my side and slid down and hid my face in my knees and sobbed.

"Bella?"

I lifted my head to see Edward crouched down in front of me with a worried look on his face. I ducked my head back into my knees and continued to cry.

I heard the lock on the door click and felt it open. Then out of nowhere I was being lifted and brought into the loft and placed on the couch where I stayed curled up in a ball.

I felt the couch shift as he sat down beside me. "H-how c-could y-you do t-this t-too m-me?" I stuttered quietly.

"I haven't done anything. What are you talking about?" He said pushing my hair out of my face.

"Don't lie to me Edward! I heard her. She said she's going out with you and that you two were _close_. Then she was all touchy feely with you in the classroom, and you _liked_ it!" I shouted. "When were you going to tell me about her?"

"I was forced to work with her, that's all. We all had to partner up, I had no choice!" He shouted back at me. "I am not going out with her! You're crazy!"

"Yet you let her feel you up on a regular basis?"

"I don't, that was the only time she's ever touched me! She's been coming on to me, but I always politely turn her down. I swear!"

I jumped up from the couch and headed upstairs.

"Bella please! Don't do this. I'm sorry; it won't happen again, I won't let it. Just please." He pleaded. "Bella don't leave me." He choked. It was almost a whisper.

I turned and looked at him. He had tears streaming down his face and he looked…not sad but panicked.

"I was never going to leave you Edward." I told him. "I thought it was _you_ that was going to leave _me_."

He made it to me in two quick strides and enveloped me in a hug. "Silly Bella, I could never live without you. I love you so much." He whispered in my ear.

He pulled his head back and looked me in the eyes. "I love you too. I can't live without you either."

We brought our lips together and kissed each other; I could taste the saltiness of our tears on our lips.

I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as he hoisted me up so that my legs automatically locked around his waist and he carried me the rest of the way up the stairs.

We were naked and breathing heavily on our bed and I noticed that the sun had gone down. I had my head rested on Edward's stomach and I started to giggle when I heard it gurgle and growl.

"What's so funny? You're not supposed to laugh at your naked boyfriend after he has just made love to you. It can really hurt a guy's ego."

"Your stomach is growling." I giggled again laying a kiss just above his bellybutton. "I was planning on taking you to lunch before…you know…the misunderstanding."

"Let's get cleaned up and you can take me to dinner."

I looked up at him with my chin resting on his chest. "Nope. I think that _you_ should take _me_ to dinner."

"Anything for you."

We hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom. I was pulling out fresh towels and turning on the water.

"Isabella Marie Swan, what is this?" He said pointing at his neck in the mirror.

I smirked at him. "Just marking my territory." I said rubbing my thumb over the light red mark that was on his skin. Edward just rolled his eyes.

We got dressed and headed out the door. "What would you like to eat?" He asked as we made it outside to the street.

"Anything but Italian."


	22. Chapter 22

After the Tanya 'misunderstanding', as we both referred to it, Edward called me every time that he would be late. He also went as far as recording his part of the performance on a CD so that he wouldn't be needed for the extra rehearsals that she was trying to get him to agree to.

I was still a little apprehensive, I knew that Edward loved me, but I still had to wonder if he would eventually change his mind. Tanya was very beautiful and I was…not. Tanya was around him everyday at school and again, I was…not.

He did, however, come home to me every night and had stopped sleeping on the couch or at his piano. He always made it up to bed, and I would awake in the morning to find his arms wrapped around me.

Finals for me were over and now I was on winter break until after the first of the year. Edward didn't have finals per se, but he had to be ready to perform in the Winter Showcase and he had to turn in a copy of his composition so far to his teacher. He was supposed to get it back before the break so that he would be able to make changes and continue to work on it over the holidays. His last day of classes was today, and the showcase was next weekend.

I was in the downstairs bathroom where the washer and dryer were sorting out laundry when I heard the front door slam shut and a string of curses flowing from Edward's mouth.

I dropped what I was doing and headed out of the bathroom just in time to see Edward throw a stack of papers across the living room. He was pissed.

"Who the fuck does he think he is?" He growled. "Fucking prick."

"Who are you talking about?" I questioned. "Your teacher?"

"Yes my _teacher_." He sneered. "Look at this." He reached down and picked up one of the papers that was now littering the floor and thrust it in my direction.

I looked at the paper in my hands and even though I couldn't make heads or tails out of the music, I could see all of the revisions and marks left on the paper with a red pen.

"Are all of the pages like this?" I asked.

"Some are worse then others, but yeah."

I started to pick up all of the sheets of music when he stopped me. "Leave it, apparently its shit."

"Edward it is not 'shit'. It is your hard work, and if it means anything to you, I love it. Plus I know it comes from here." I said poking him in the chest where his heart would be.

He smiled at me with frustrated eyes and started to pick up the mess he made on the floor.

"I don't even know why I wanted to come to this school." He mumbled.

I gaped at him. "Edward Anthony are you feeling sorry for yourself because this isn't _easy_ for you? If it wasn't a challenge there would be no reason to be here. You are _supposed_ to be learning. Not breezing through it like you do in normal school." I scolded him. "Get over yourself, you are not _that_ awesome."

He snapped his head around to face me. "But you admit that I am a little awesome?"

"A little." I held my thumb and forefinger about an inch apart. "Now go and wash your own clothes your Awesomeness while I start dinner."

I woke up feeling groggy and I stretched out and found that I was alone in the bed. I looked at the clock on the nightstand and it told me that it was almost eleven. Edward's parents were coming in today for the Winter Showcase and were going to stay through the holidays.

"Ed-ward!" I called. "Where are you?" I heard him bounding up the stairs probably taking two at a time.

I smiled when I saw him. He was still only in his boxers and his hair was standing on end. He walked over to me and sat on the edge of the bed. "It's 'bout time you woke up, lazy."

"You're mean." I pouted. "I was going to ask you to get back in here with me, but now I've changed my mind." I said pulling up the covers to my neck and rolling to face away from him. "Mmm…so warm."

"Miss Bella." He said crawling over me to get to his side of the bed and lying down. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Freeze, because I'm not letting you in here."

"Just so you know. My parents will be here in about an hour. So if you want to have your hair look like a haystack and still be in your PJs then by all means stay wrapped up in here. I'm taking a shower." He jumped up and stood on the bed and walked over me and landed with a thud on the floor and went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Fifteen minutes later Edward walked out of the bathroom and headed into the closet to put on some clothes.

I had just finished drying my hair when I heard the doorbell ring. I set down my brush and ran downstairs. Edward was already at the door opening it. I was squealing in delight when I saw not only Edward's parents, but Alice, Jasper, Rose and Emmett in the doorway.

Alice ran to me and we crashed into a hug. "I've missed you so much!"

Alice finally released me so that I could properly greet out other guests. Emmett gave me a bone crushing hug and did the same to Edward. "You know you missed me little bro!" He exclaimed wrapping his arm around Edward's shoulders.

Everyone was staying for the holidays. Alice, Jasper, Rose and Emmett were going to stay with us and Edward's parents were staying at a nearby hotel.

Carlisle and Esme headed to their hotel to check in, and the others freshened up from their trip at our place. We were going to have a quick bite to eat before heading over to Edward's school for the Showcase.

Edward had to leave the loft and be at the school early to prepare and the rest of us headed over so that we were about an hour early. The entrance was decorated for the holidays and so were the halls and the stage.

We mingled with the other guests and chatted amongst ourselves. I felt a little uncomfortable when I noticed Tanya's family which included Victoria, standing around the refreshment counter talking with other student's families.

Rose and Alice both noticed the sudden drop in my mood. "Are you feeling Ok Bella?" Rose asked. "All of a sudden you look ill."

"Thanks Rose. I'm fine, really." I told her but I still felt uneasy. Emmett noticed our conversation and looked over to where my attention was focused.

"What the Hell!? What is she doing here?" He almost shouted.

"Calm down Emmett. Her sister Tanya goes here."

Before he could respond to me a guy with blonde hair that was past his shoulders and was tied back in a ponytail walked up and put an arm around Victoria. I swear I heard Emmett growl.

I turned to look at him and saw that his face was bright red with anger. "What's wrong with you?" Rose asked him with a confused look on her face. "Did you eat something bad?"

"Victoria and James are here." He spat. "Does Edward know about this?" He asked me.

"Well, he knows that Tanya is her sister. We saw them together at the student orientation at the beginning of the year. I've never seen that guy before though."

"I don't like this." He said only to himself. "Not at all." For the rest of the time that we had to wait, Emmett kept a watchful eye on the couple that paid no attention to us.

We all headed into the auditorium and sat as close to the stage as we could get. The lights dimmed and the show started.

We saw a couple of scenes and monologues from the Drama people, and we saw a couple of different types of dances from the Dance group that included Jazz, Tap, and Ballet. There was a musical theatre number and then an orchestra was set up and they played two long songs.

Then I got to see what we came for. My handsome Edward in a black suit sit at a piano and play the song that I knew by heart because I had heard it a thousand times, only this time there were subtle changes in it and it was more beautiful than ever.

I didn't know that he was playing a solo piece tonight. I thought that it was only going to be him and Tanya and the song that they had to perform. I looked at the program and searched the schedule. I got to his name and it read: Edward Cullen playing his own composition: "Bella's Lullaby".

I gasped and covered my mouth with one hand. I had tears threatening to spill from my eyes when Esme patted my leg. "What's wrong dear?" She whispered. I held the program up and pointed to the entry. She smiled warmly at me and took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

There was applause when he was finished and he stood to bow. He sat back down and started another song. Tanya waltzed out in a flowing gown with a microphone and started singing. Her voice was beautiful, she was beautiful, but when she started touching Edward's back and shoulders while she sang I could only see red. The only comforting thing was that Edward's calm face turned into a scowl for a split second before he composed himself and had a blank emotionless look for the rest of the performance.

After a couple more songs from different performers and another pianist, the show was over. The audience stood and cheered while all of the students came out to the stage and bowed. Emmett stood and started whistling and hollering before Rose smacked the back of his head and he continued to just clap.

We headed out into a large studio where they had set up tables and chairs for the holiday party that was to follow the Showcase.

I excused myself to the restroom and locked myself into a stall. I heard the restroom doors open and close a few times and women coming and going. I finished, straightened my clothes and reached for the door lock, but I stopped.

"Tanya was fantastic tonight, wasn't she Mom?"

"Yes beautiful." The door opened and closed again. Someone else had entered.

"Here you both are. I've been looking for you." Tanya's voice crooned.

"I'm going to head back out to your father and James." Her mother said.

"Wait for me Vicky. Ok?" I heard a stall door close and lock.

"So I could see sparks flowing between you and Edward Cullen. How's that going by the way?"

"It would be great if he would leave that mousy girlfriend of his. I wanted to rip her hair out when she walked in on us the other day."

"Well you could somehow get it in her head that he isn't faithful. It's not that hard to manipulate people, I should know."

Tanya laughed and came out of the stall. "Vicky you are horrible! You know that he probably still believes that you slept with him."

"I know. After that night he was always hinting for me to tell him what happened. Unfortunately he was way more wasted than I thought." She laughed again. "I did get a good look at the _goods_ though, and let me tell you Tanya you won't be disappointed."

So Edward and Victoria never slept together. This was good news. I heard the restroom doors open and close again and I knew that they had left. I unlocked my stall and went to wash my hands. Alice and Rose walked in just as I was drying my hands off.

"Geez, Bella we thought you fell in." Alice giggled. "We decided to check on you."

I went on to tell them of the Tanya problem and what I had heard in the restroom. I didn't tell them about Edward and Victoria. That was private between Edward and me. I knew that he was uncomfortable with that subject and I would tell him what I heard later.

"The nerve of her!" Rose grumbled. "You do know not to let her get to you, right?"

"I know, but it's hard. I'm not you Rose. I can hardly stand up for myself. She intimidates me." It was true; I would be kidding myself if I thought that I could compete with her in the looks or talent department.

"Bella." Alice said holding both of my arms. "Edward loves you. I see the way he looks at you. Tanya is no competition."

"You need to let this Tanya know that Edward is your man." Rose forcefully told me. "We are going to put her in her place. Tonight."

Rose went on to tell me what I needed to do, and Alice agreed with everything she was saying. I was a little unsure of this plan, but I was willing to try with their help.

I smiled at her and both girls flanked me linking their arms with mine and we walked out of the restroom.

I felt a little better with my girls with me, and I felt even better when I saw Edward. I walked up to him and gave him a big hug. "You were wonderful tonight, and I loved my lullaby." I smiled brightly at him.

"Thank you Bella, you're my inspiration. I love you." With just those three words my confidence skyrocketed.

I saw Tanya standing with some of the girls from the other day next to the dance floor. There was holiday music playing and I grabbed Edward's hand and headed out to dance. I made sure that we were in her sights before I stopped and put my arms around his neck.

Rose and Alice saw us and Rose winked at me. I scanned my eyes across Tanya and her friends and noticed that she was watching.

Edward and I started swaying to the slow music. He had put one hand on the small of my back and the other was holding my hand. My free hand was over his shoulder and my fingers were playing with the hair on the back of his neck.

I let go of his hand and placed it on his cheek and pulled his face down to mine. His hand went around to my back and he pulled me closer. I tilted my head as our lips met. I traced my tongue across his lips and he responded my accepting my tongue into his mouth.

We were still on the edge of the dance floor and I cracked an eye to see if Tanya was still watching. She was still talking to her friends but every few seconds she would glance in our direction and scowl.

Alice and Rose walked up next to them and started a 'friendly' conversation with Tanya expressing how much they liked her performance.

"You have a beautiful voice." Rose commented.

"Thank you." Tanya replied. "Who are you here with?"

"Actually were here supporting your accompanist, Edward Cullen." Alice explained. "We came all the way from Washington to show our support and spend the holidays with him and his girlfriend Bella."

"How nice." Tanya said glancing at us again.

"We are staying with them in their home." Rose giggled. "I just hope we can get some sleep while we are here."

"Yeah, those two are very _active_, if you know what I mean?" Alice told her wiggling her eyebrows.

"I'm sure I don't." Tanya sneered.

"That just means that they have a lot of sex." Rose whispered leaning closer to Tanya.

Tanya glared at Rose for a second and stalked off pushing one of her friends into another.

I saw Rose and Alice do a small fist bump before they headed back to the family.

Carlisle hailed a couple of cabs for us and we headed back to the loft. Carlisle and Esme said goodnight and left in one of the cabs to their hotel.

The six of us went inside and prepared for bed. Rose and Emmett were taking the guest room again because Emmett declared that it was his room to begin with. Alice and Jasper were taking the sofa bed, and Edward and I headed to our room.

The lights were out and everyone was settled in for the night. Edward and I were cuddled up close and I told him what I overheard in the bathroom. He was shocked but was relieved at the same time.

"So that's why you couldn't keep your hands off of me. You were trying to mark your territory again?" He chuckled.

"That's not the only reason. You are irresistible you know?" I said as I kissed his lips briefly.

"I know." He confirmed. I shoved his shoulder. "But so are you."

I giggled and he started kissing along my jaw and up to my ear.

"Will you two girls shut it up there? Some of us are trying to sleep!" Emmett yelled from downstairs and it only made us laugh harder.


	23. Chapter 23

I woke up early and started making breakfast for everyone. I shuffled around the kitchen trying not to make too much noise. I started the coffee pot and pulled out a big skillet to fry up some bacon.

"Do you need any help?" Alice asked in a low voice trying to stay quiet. Rose walked out of the guest room and headed for the coffee pot that had just finished brewing.

"Hey girls. What's cookin'?" She looked at the pack of bacon that I was pulling apart and laying in the pan. "You'd better throw two packs on, Emmett _loves_ bacon."

We all giggled and I went to the fridge to get out another pack and the eggs. "So how have you both been?" I questioned. I hadn't seen either of them for over two months.

"Actually girls I have an announcement to make." Rose started. Alice and I looked at her willing her to continue. "I'm not supposed to say anything yet, but I can't stand it any longer."

"What?!" Alice and I both said at the same time.

"Well, we were going to make the announcement tonight at dinner, but…" She continued to whisper. "Emmett asked me to marry him!"

Alice and I both squealed rather loudly. "Shhh! I don't want him to know that I told you." Our squeal turned into a whisper squeal.

We held a group hug in the middle of my kitchen. The three of us were bouncing in place when Jasper appeared at the counter. "What's going on in here ladies?"

"Nothing Jazz, we are just happy to be together." Alice chimed in. "I've missed Bella so much. We should visit more often."

"Rose, you me and Bella…later." Alice winked at us. We both nodded.

"Mmm…bacon!" Emmett exclaimed coming from the bedroom. "I'm starving!"

I held my finger to my lips shushing him. "Edward is still asleep. He has hardly slept in the last month. Let him get some rest please."

"No sleep for Edward little Bella?" Emmett laughed. "Ooh Eddie!" He continued in a high pitched voice that I assumed was supposed to be me, rubbing his chest and wiggling his hips provocatively. "You're such a stud!"

My face flushed a bright red which made Emmett laugh even louder. I turned to the sink and started the water and the garbage disposal. I picked up the tray that held all of the cooked bacon and threatened to dump it in the sink. Emmett's eyes got wide and lunged for the tray. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He yelled.

I handed him the tray and squinted my eyes at him. "Watch yourself Emmett Cullen, no more making fun of Bella, you got it?" He nodded profusely clutching the tray with one arm and running his hand back and forth along the rim like he was soothing it.

The girls and I finished cooking up breakfast and set it out on the table. "I'm going up to see if Edward wants any." I told everyone and headed to the stairs.

"Ooh, let me." Emmett shot past me and bounded up the stairs before I could stop him. I heard a grunt and an 'Emmett get the hell off me' and a couple of curse words before Emmett yelled 'Ow' and more cursing. Then there were two loud 'thuds' and Emmett came back downstairs holding his arm. "I don't think he wants any."

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"I only jumped on him and bounced around a little. Then he had the nerve to push me off and he even threw those fucking beat to shit boots that he loves at me. Asshole."

"Did he want any breakfast?" Jasper snickered. "Maybe you should put some on a tray and serve him breakfast in bed." Emmett just flipped him off.

"Emmett be nice." I scolded him and headed up the stairs.

Edward was lying on his stomach and was facing away from me when I entered the room. I crawled across the bed and draped myself over his back so that I could see his face.

"I made breakfast." I said brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Do you want some?"

"MmHm." He hummed, his eyes still closed. I kissed his bare shoulder and laid down beside him. He turned his face in my direction on his pillow.

"It's eight. You can sleep longer. I'll save some for you." I said rubbing my hand from his waist up into his hair and back. "Your mom is taking the girls and me shopping later, do you want to come?"

He cracked one green eye open and raised his eyebrow like I had just asked him the dumbest question known to man. "I didn't think so. I don't know what the 'boys' have planned for today but I'm sure it will beat _shopping_." I said in mock enthusiasm.

Breakfast and six showers later we were finally ready for the day. Carlisle and Esme showed up just as we were finishing getting ready. The girls hopped in one cab and the boys in another.

We shopped for hours before finally sitting down at a restaurant for lunch. "Alice I don't know how you plan on getting all of those new clothes in your suitcase and on the plane home." I laughed.

"Silly Bella, all of these clothes are not for me." She chirped.

"Please, I don't need any new clothes. I wish you wouldn't have done that." I scolded.

"You are kidding right? You still wear stuff from like three years ago." Rose informed the table. "You need a little updating."

"Not to mention you need to…I was going to say update, but I'm going to go with…create a wardrobe of sexy lingerie." Alice said and Rose agreed. Kill me now. I'm not that comfortable with this topic anyway, but I am sitting next to my boyfriend's mother.

I looked at Esme from the corner of my wide eyes to find her laughing along with my two ex-best friends. I slapped my hand over my face and tried to huddle in the corner of the booth.

"Girls, you are making Bella uncomfortable." I silently thanked Esme. I'm sure she didn't want to hear the details about her sons' sex lives today at lunch anyway.

We got home a few hours later to find Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper watching ESPN each with a beer in their hand and Edward standing in the kitchen listening to his iPod putting away dishes.

I walked in the kitchen and put my bags on the counter. Edward didn't even notice that I was there. I could hear the music coming from his ear buds. I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind and he turned and gave me his breathtaking crooked smile.

"What did you and the guys do today?" I asked him.

"Would you believe we went shopping?" He rolled his eyes. "They wanted to do some Christmas shopping around here. We just got home and they turned on the TV"

"What did you buy?"

"That, I am not telling you." He grinned at me before kissing me softly. "It would ruin the surprise."

"Well ladies, we have reservations for dinner at six." Carlisle said standing up and putting his arm around Esme. "We are going to head back to the hotel to change."

A few minutes later they left and we all started to get ready for dinner. The place that was chosen was supposed to be really nice. It wasn't formal, but we would have to look nice.

Alice presented a beautiful navy blue dress to me before I headed upstairs to change. It was sleeveless with a deep 'v' neck. The bodice was fitted to my waist and the skirt was loose and fell just above my knees. She also handed me a pair of peep-toe heels to match. I put on a little make-up and curled my hair just enough to give it some 'bounce'.

I walked out of the bathroom to find Edward dressed in some nice black slacks and a black button down shirt and black shoes. He already had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"Lookin' good, Johnny Cash." I teased. "It looks like Alice got to you too."

"I don't mind. You look stunning by the way." He told me before taking my hand and heading down the stairs.

As we were being lead to our table in the restaurant I noticed a shock of red hair at a table in a different section. I cringed inwardly hoping that we could avoid any run-ins with the Denali family. Of all the restaurants in New York, we had ended up in the same one. Figures.

Just as the server had taken away our dinner plates Emmett called the table to attention. "Rose and I have an announcement to make." He beamed and Rose smiled. "I've asked Rose to marry me and oddly enough she has accepted!"

As Rose produced a very attractive ring on her left hand, Esme jumped up and ran around the table to give her soon-to-be daughter in-law a hug and kiss on the cheek.

The boys and Carlisle shook Emmett's hand and also hugged Rose. Carlisle ordered champagne, but Edward, Alice and I had to have soda after the first toast since we were not 21.

Before dessert arrived I excused myself to the restroom. My girls were going to go with me but I didn't want to tear Rose away from Emmett nor did I want to interrupt Alice's wedding planning conversation.

I was washing my hands and looked in the mirror. I combed my fingers lightly through my hair and headed out the door. I was smiling the whole time. I was so happy for Rose and could only hope that one day Edward and I could be sharing this kind of news with our family and friends. I was brought out of my thoughts when I bumped into a person in the hall.

"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." I explained to the person that I had run into. He had gripped my by the arms so that I wouldn't fall.

"Hmm…not bad." The man purred into my ear not releasing his hands from my arms.

When I looked up to the mans face I was shocked to be looking into the eyes of James.

"Thanks for catching me." I struggled to get away from his grasp. "Excuse me."

I escaped his hold on my arms and I started to walk away. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. "Not so fast _Bella_." He sneered. "I wasn't finished talking to you."

"What do you want?" I was feeling very uncomfortable at this point. He wouldn't hurt me in the middle of an upper class restaurant would he?

"It seems that you have something that my Vicky's little sister Tanya wants." He snorted. "I don't know why she wants him, but she does and I want to make her and Vicky happy. Do you catch my drift?"

I shook my head and tried to pull my wrist out of his hands. "You're hurting me!"

"Good then I have your attention." He spat. "You see, I want you to forget about Edward Cullen. You got that? Pack up and move away. I don't care, just leave New York."

Tears started spilling down my face and he continued. "If you don't, I can make your lives pretty miserable. You wouldn't want Edward to get kicked out of school for something like…I don't know…drugs?"

I thought about what he was saying. I would do anything for Edward, but was I strong enough to walk away. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alice walk into the hallway that we were standing in and then she ran out.

"Please just leave us alone." I sobbed still trying to pull my wrist away. I thought I felt a 'crack' and then what felt like fire shoot straight up my arm into my shoulder and I cried out in pain.

James laughed at my misery and pushed me away still holding on to my wrist and into the phones that were hanging on the wall next to the restroom doors. My head hit one of the phones and the receiver hung and swayed on the cord. He pulled me back and shoved again sending me into the wall hitting my head again and then he finally released my arm.

I slumped and slid down the wall and landed on my butt. I heard what sounded like a low growl and I shifted my eyes to the source.

Edward was marching towards us followed by Emmett and Jasper. The fury in Edward's eyes only increased when he saw the state I was in. His hand shot out and grabbed James by the throat and shoved him into the opposite wall from me.

Emmett and Jasper reached Edward and pulled him off of James. "I see some of you have some kind of sense!" James laughed. "You wouldn't want to get _innocent_ Edward into any trouble now would you?"

"See to Bella Edward." Emmett growled. "I've got this." Emmett's hand replaced Edward's on James' neck and proceeded to shove him out of the emergency exit door. Jasper followed close behind.

Edward kneeled down beside me and brushed the hair out of my face and straightened my dress so that I wouldn't be exposed to the world. I clutched my injured arm to my chest.

In one swift movement Edward scooped me up in his arms and was heading out to the street to get a cab.

I huddled close to Edward's chest in the cab all the way to the hospital. He was quiet except that he was humming my lullaby so soft that I could barely hear him.

He carried me into the emergency room and tried to put me in a chair in the waiting room. "Don't leave." I whimpered.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "I have to get you checked in and fill out paperwork. I'll be right back." He promised.

At that moment the rest of our group came in the ER doors minus Emmett and Jasper. Carlisle came over to me and quickly checked out my wrist while Esme headed to the check in station.

"You need an X-ray." Carlisle said and went over to the nurses' station. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but he was gesturing to me and he had a scowl on his face. The nurses kept shaking their heads and motioning for him to sit down.

I think he finally had had enough and raised his voice asking for the attending doctor, what made me smile is that he said that his 'daughter' was injured and needed to be seen immediately.

A man with a long white coat came out and looked apologetic, nodding his head and then getting a nurse to escort Edward and me into an exam curtain.

After an X-ray, a shot of pain medication, a prescription for pain medication, an examination of my head, and having a brace fitted on my now fractured wrist, I was released to go home.

I was wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair and put in the cab. I assured Carlisle and Esme that I was fine and they headed back to their hotel for the night since it was well past midnight at this point. Alice and Rose rode in the cab with us.

We walked in the front door; well everyone except me because Edward insisted that he would carry me, and found Emmett and Jasper with evil grins on their faces.

"What happened with James?" Alice asked sitting next to Jasper.

"Besides a good beating?" Emmett laughed. "No seriously. The cops came and he was arrested for assault, I think that was the charge, because the whole thing was on the security video. I don't think that he will be bothering you again."

"They want you to issue a restraining order." Jasper explained. "I think that it would be a good idea."

I yawned involuntarily and snuggled my head back into Edward's chest. "We'll talk about it in the morning." Edward said and headed with me in his arms up the stairs.

He sat me on the bed and went to the closet and pulled out one of his t-shirts for me to wear. When he came back out I was already lying down and almost asleep. The shot that they had given me for pain was starting to make me very sleepy.

Edward gently pulled me back into a sitting position and unzipped my dress and pulled it off of my shoulders.

"I don't think I'm up for this right now baby." I slurred. He rolled his eyes and continued to undress me.

Once I was dressed for bed in Edward's shirt, he pulled back the covers and helped me scoot in and lay down.

In seconds Edward was out of his nice clothes and was lying down behind me pulling me into his chest and kissing my shoulder and behind my ear.

With the comfort of Edward's arms and the pain medication I drifted off to sleep.


	24. Chapter 24

I woke up, well I wouldn't say that _I_ _woke up_ but rather my brain woke up and my body stayed asleep and quite immobile. I could tell that my head and my injured hand were lying on Edward's chest but the rest of me was numb.

"How is she?" I heard Carlisle's voice ask. "Did she sleep through the night?"

There was no reply. The only sound was the air filling and leaving Edward's lungs and his heartbeat.

"Edward?"

Still no reply.

Carlisle sighed. "I know that you are upset about this whole situation, but you can't shut down and close yourself off from everyone."

Edward's arms held me tighter. "She's fine." Edward forced out.

I could tell by his voice that _he _was not 'fine' nor did he believe that I was either.

"I want to take a look at her hand when she wakes up. Will you let me know?"

Edward must have nodded because I heard Carlisle's retreating steps down the stairs.

I forced my eyes open and lifted my head. "Ugh." I groaned.

"Don't sit up until you're ready." Edward said brushing my hair behind my ear. "That pain medication really did a number on you."

"I have a very low tolerance to medicine. A regular dose for most people is like a double dose for me." I tried to sit up again this time getting into an actual sitting position. Edward had his hands on both of my shoulders steadying me while he slid over to the edge of the bed.

"I have to go to the bathroom." I started to stand but wobbled a bit. Edward put his arm around my back under my arms.

He led me into the bathroom and over to the toilet. "I think I can handle it from here."

"Bella you can hardly sit up and-" I cut him off.

"You are _not_ staying in here while I pee." I almost shouted. He reluctantly walked out the door. "And close the door!" I called after him.

Once I was finished I called him back and he walked me back to bed. He had propped up the pillows so that I could stay sitting.

Esme appeared at the top of the stairs bearing a tray filled with breakfast items. "Oh Esme, you are a life saver." I smiled. "I'm starving and I was afraid that I would only get Pop Tarts for breakfast." Edward frowned at me so I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

The house phone rang and I heard Carlisle answer it.

It was Emmett telling us that the police had contacted him wanting to know if I wanted to press charges on James and ID him in a line up this afternoon. We set the appointment and now I would have to face James again. They swore to me that he wouldn't see me. I agreed to do it.

We still had some time before we had to leave, so I was able to rest a little more. Carlisle checked my wrist and said that it looked better. The swelling had gone down and now it was just sore.

Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Alice left out shopping early this morning and were going to meet up with us after the police station. Emmett and Jasper had already given the police a statement last night while we were all at the hospital.

I was still in bed and Edward had not left my side. I leaned into his side and rested my head on his shoulder. "You're being awfully quiet." I told him.

"Bella, I am so mad at myself right now. It's my fault that you were hurt last night. James only did it because of me."

"Edward, please don't blame yourself. You didn't know that he was even in the restaurant."

"I know. I just…I felt so useless to you last night. You were hurt and I couldn't _do_ anything. All I felt was anger. I wanted to rip his head off. If Emmett wouldn't have been there I would have fought him and left you sitting there in pain. What kind of person does that make me?"

"You're a natural protector Edward. You were taking away the danger to me. You would have helped me when the threat of James was gone and over."

He thought about that for a minute and slowly nodded his head. "Now you see? So stop being so dramatic and help me take a shower." He raised his eyebrow at me. "Edward don't be a dork, I can barely stand up."

Edward helped me through my shower with a protective arm around me at all times so that I wouldn't fall and crack open my head open on the marble tile.

The four of us caught a cab down to the police station. I had to make a formal complaint and press charges. They led me into a room where I would have to ID James through a one-way window. A police officer, James' lawyer, a lawyer that Carlisle had called in for my protection and me were put into the small observation room with the big window and we waited.

After a few minutes five men similar to James and James himself were ushered into the small room on the other side of the window. I felt like I was in a scene from the "Usual Suspects".

The police officer called through a microphone for each of the suspects to step forward. Once they got through all six I was asked to identify my assailant.

"Number 4." I stated without hesitation.

"Are you sure?" The police officer asked.

"Yes, positive." I responded ready to leave.

I sat with an officer and told him the whole story. Edward was with me and told the officer of his past with James and why he would act like this to me. The officer had me file a restraining order against James so that he couldn't come near me again. If he did he'd end up in jail. I didn't know what was going to happen to James. I didn't really care as long as he was away from Edward and me.

They led me back to my family and thanked me for my cooperation. On the way out I saw Victoria, Tanya and their parents in the waiting area of the police station. Edward noticed too and put his arm around me protectively and we walked out the door.

Three days later it was Christmas Eve and my hand was healing fine. I had to wear the brace for another month before it would be healed properly. Edward was at my beck and call 24/7. I think Esme was impressed with her son's attentiveness. I stopped taking the prescribed pain medication so that I could enjoy the company of the living. I suppressed the pain with regular ibuprofen, and only indulged the prescription at night so that I could sleep comfortably without waking in four hours to take more medication.

Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle and Edward had gotten us a Christmas tree while us girls went out and bought the tree trimmings and other festive decorations. The loft was turning into a Christmas masterpiece. That's what Alice had called it anyways.

It was almost eleven when we bid farewell to Carlisle and Esme for the night. I headed upstairs for bed while Edward helped clean up downstairs so that Jasper and Alice could pull out the sofa bed.

I walked into the room and into the closet to get my pajamas out of the dresser. I quickly changed and was on my way into the bathroom to brush my teeth when I saw something shiny out of the corner of my eye.

I turned my head and on the bed was a small oblong package wrapped in silver paper and topped with a silver bow. I cocked my head to the side and started at it.

I walked over to the bed and picked up the box and shook it a little next to my ear. "Open it." I turned to see Edward standing against the half-wall at the top of the stairs grinning with his arms folded across his chest.

"It's not Christmas yet."

"It's close enough." He said walking over to me.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled me into his lap.

I tore off the paper and held the long velvet box in my hand. I slowly cracked open the box on its hinges and gasped. Inside was a gorgeous necklace with a heart shaped diamond pendant.

"Edward this is too much!" He chuckled and removed the necklace from the box. "No really, this it too much."

"Nonsense Bella. It's just right. I knew it would be beautiful on you." He said while brushing my hair out of the way so he could fasten the necklace around my neck.

I placed my hand over the heart pendant and looked into his sparkling green eyes. "Thank you, it's beautiful. I love it."

"Merry Christmas Bella. I love you." He told me before he leaned in for a kiss.

My good hand went to the back of his neck and into his hair and the other remained between us resting lightly on his chest. He had one hand pressed into my back and the other on my hip.

We were both startled when Alice announced her arrival at the top of the stairs. "Bella do you have a nail file?" She said examining her hand. "I snagged my nail on something today." She finally looked up at us noticing our embrace. "Oops sorry."

"It's OK Alice; it's in the bathroom in the top drawer." She ran in and out really quickly and stumbled down the stairs. "I'm Ok!" She called from the bottom.

I smiled at him and reached over and clicked off the light. We slid into bed and I crawled on top of him and started kissing his face and neck. I reached his ear. "I really love the necklace." I whispered.

He rolled us over so that he was hovering over me and molded his lips over mine.

I tugged at his shirt. "Why are you wearing this?" I said against his lips. He smiled and helped me remove it and dropped his head into the crook of my neck and kissed along my collarbone and throat. He gave me one kiss to my lips and pulled away and flopped on his back groaning.

"What? Come back."

"Bella, we have a house full of guests and a bedroom without a door not to mention a partial wall."

I pouted but I was sure he couldn't tell because of the darkness of the room. I took his hand and placed it on my face so he could feel my expression. He laughed quietly. I swung my leg over his waist and wiggled against him. "Are you sure?"

His hands slid up my thighs and onto my hips to settle my movements. "You are making this very difficult." He sighed.

"Actually I'm making this very easy." He rolled us back over. "Did you change your mind?"

He didn't say anything he just helped me out of my nightshirt.

Christmas morning was bright, festive and really early. Alice had us up at the crack of dawn with breakfast and Emmett was sitting in front of the tree shaking presents.

"Let's get this show on the road!" He hollered at everyone. "Time's a wastin'!"

We all sat around the living room while Emmett handed out presents to everyone. We opened all of the presents and 'oohed' and 'awed' at everything. I showed them the necklace that Edward had given me the night before.

It was about an hour before we were to eat and I was feeling a little tired, so I headed upstairs to lie down for a while. I assured Edward that I was fine and for him to stay and play with the video game that Emmett had gotten for Christmas.

I laid down on the bed and covered myself with the comforter and closed my eyes. There was so much yelling from downstairs about the video game. Emmett didn't seem to agree with Edward's game playing skills and was sure that he was somehow cheating.

I opened my eyes to find Esme bringing up the clothes that Alice and Rose had gotten Edward and me. She had started putting them on hangers when she noticed that I was awake.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you." She said coming to sit next to me on the bed.

"It's OK; I can't sleep with all of that racket going on down there anyway." I sat up against the headboard.

She sighed and looked at me like she had something to say to me. "Bella…" She started. "I don't know how to thank you for all you have done for this family."

I shook my head. "Me? You all have done so much for us. This apartment, Edward's piano, everything."

"No Bella. I mean what you have done for Edward. He was…lost to us before you came along." She took my hand in hers. "You have brought him back to us and I don't know how we will ever be able to repay you."

I laughed. "Esme, you don't have to repay me for anything. I have Edward. I love him with all of my heart."

"He loves you too. I can see it when he looks at you." She smiled. "Carlisle and I love you too. We consider you part of our family."

I reached out and hugged her tight. "I don't know what to say. Thank you."

"What do you say? Let's go down and finish up cooking this dinner so that my eldest son doesn't starve to death." She laughed and shook her head.

"I'm right behind you." I told her as I climbed out of the bed.

I got to the bottom of the stairs and saw Rose kicking Emmett's butt at a racing game. He threw down the controller and pouted. "You are all cheaters!"

"Emmett we let you choose your controller, then we switched controllers, then we all let you practice for a while. You are just not good at this one." Rose tried to soothe Emmett's feelings.

Edward was lying back on the couch laughing with his head on the armrest and his knees bent and feet on the cushion. Alice and Jasper were on the other end; Alice in Jasper's lap, Carlisle was in the chair, and Emmett and Rose were sitting on the floor.

Emmett shot up from the floor and ran over to me. "Bella, play me!" He shouted pushing me towards the TV.

"Sorry Emmett." I held up my braced wrist. "Plus you wouldn't want me to beat you with a broken wrist would you? Wouldn't that knock your 'man points' down a couple of notches?"

"He's already in the negative with those 'man points'." Edward teased as Emmett jumped over the back of the couch onto Edward and knocked them both to the ground. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"Boys!" Esme scolded. "Play nice."

We all seated ourselves around the dinner table and we ate. I looked around the table at all of my family and I thought of Charlie. He had sent Edward and me plane tickets home for Spring Break as a Christmas present. I felt bad that he couldn't be here with us. I would be calling him later to wish him a Merry Christmas and to send my love.

I felt Edward's hand take mine. "What are you thinking about?" He whispered.

"I'm just thinking about how happy I am right now." I said squeezing his hand.

"I'm happy too." He said and kissed my cheek and my temple. "You have no idea."


	25. Chapter 25

The New Year had passed and everyone headed home the next day. Our goodbyes were long and tearful and I couldn't help but bury my face into Edward's jacket as we waved at the van that was taking our family to the airport.

Edward took my hand as we walked back inside our building and headed to the elevator.

"We'll see them again in just a few months when we fly out for Spring Break." He said rubbing my back as I leaned into him waiting for the elevator to reach our floor.

"I know." I sniffed. "I just miss them already."

School started up the next day for both of us. Our schedules were the same as last semester. I liked having Fridays off from school so that I could spend more time with Edward in the morning and in the afternoon.

I opened my eyes in the morning before the alarm clock went off. I reached over and switched it off. I laid in bed watching Edward sleep until his eyes fluttered open and met mine.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a smirk.

"I'm watching my handsome boyfriend sleep." I told him while trying to brush his unruly hair off his forehead and out of his eyes. He shook his head and rolled onto his back with a sigh.

"I don't want to get up." He groaned and crossed his arms over his face.

"Close you eyes for fifteen more minutes while I take a shower. I'll wake you up when I'm done."

I jumped in the shower hoping that it would wake me up. I got out and toweled off, brushed my teeth, and got dressed.

I walked out into the bedroom and woke Edward. He stood up and stretched out his long body before shuffling into the bathroom.

"Let me get my brush before you get in." I said as Edward rolled his eyes and turned on the water before stripping off his clothes and stepping in under the spray.

I shrugged my shoulders. I guess he wouldn't care if I was in here while he showered. It's not like I've never seen him naked before. So I started blow drying my hair.

We were both finally ready for the day and headed out to the street bundled up in our jackets. Edward pulled my wool hat over my ears before kissing my cold lips goodbye. I pulled the hood of his sweatshirt that he had on under his coat up and over his head. He smiled and kissed me again before we headed in different directions to walk to school.

School was boring and slow. Since it was the first day the classes were cut short. My last class only lasted for a half an hour instead of the normal hour. I went to the bookstore to pick up the text books that I needed for the classes that I had had today.

I got home and cleaned up the loft a little. Washed some clothes and changed the sheets on the guest room bed. It was almost five and I needed a couple of things from the market to make dinner.

The market was near Edward's school so I thought that I would see if he done for the day. Maybe he would want to go to the market with me and pick out a few things.

I walked into the front doors of Julliard and headed down to the music classrooms. I looked in the windows of a few rooms before I found Edward. The classroom had about twenty chairs that were raised like a small auditorium. The teacher in the front had his back to the class and was writing music notes on the chalkboard that was lined like sheet music. The teacher then played some music from a stereo. Edward closed his eyes in concentration listening to the music.

As I was watching him I felt a presence behind me. I turned to find Tanya glaring at me with her arms folded in front of her.

"What do you think you are doing here?" She sneered. "You don't belong here."

"Well, _Tanya_, I'm waiting for my _boyfriend_ to finish with his class so that we can walk home together." I smiled at her. "Because we live together." I added just to fuel the fire. I was done letting her intimidate me.

"It's just a matter of time." She laughed without humor.

"A matter of time for what exactly? For him to leave me for you? You are so delusional. Even if we broke up he wouldn't go for you. You're in the same league as James and Victoria and he hates them." My voice remained calm.

"He doesn't love you. You are just a passing phase, little girl." She waved her hand in front of me. "He'll tire of you and come looking for a real woman like me."

"Well, until then, I'm the one that he holds at night while he sleeps." I smirked. Just then Edward came out of the classroom. I smiled up at him to show him that I was OK and took his hand. He gathered up his stuff from a locker and we headed out to the market.

We got home and I told him the conversation that I had with Tanya. He told me that he requested not to work with her this semester and that the teachers were fine with it.

We got back in the groove of school and little sleep. We were both exhausted and went to bed early one night when we both had light homework.

The phone rang and woke me from my light sleep. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 9:30pm and not an unusual hour for our friends and family to call.

"Hello?" I answered lying on my back. Edward rolled over and rested his head on my shoulder his eyes still closed.

"Hey Bella!" Rose's voice said excitedly.

"Hi, Rose, what's up?"

"I have some good news." She started. "Emmett and I have decided on a date for the wedding."

"That's great. When?"

"Over your spring break! When you are both here."

"Rose that's like a month and a half away. Alice is probably freaking out." I laughed because it was true.

"She is, but I bribed her to settle down by making her the maid of honor. I hope you don't mind." She said sheepishly.

"No Rose, not at all. I mean, she's there with you to plan. I won't be around to help at all."

"Emmett wants Edward to be in the wedding too. Jasper is his best man of course."

"I think Edward would like that."

"What would I like?" Edward mumbled into my neck.

"Go back to sleep, I'll tell you in the morning."

"Oh! Are you guys trying to sleep? I didn't think it was that late." Rose apologized.

"No Rose its fine. We just went to bed. It's been a long week for both of us." I explained. Edward sighed and I could tell that he was already asleep. "Edward is sleeping again already."

"I'll let you go, but I am going to email you a picture of the dress that I picked out for you and the color. They have the store in New York and I have already bought the dress and they will set up a fitting for you. You just have to bring it when you come. I'll have the shoes here."

"I'm happy for you Rose. I can't wait. I'll tell Edward about it in the morning. Love you, Bye!" I said hanging up the phone. 'Love you too' I heard Edward mumble in his sleep and his hold tightened around me. I turned in his arms and buried my face in his chest and breathed him in before closing my eyes for the night.

Spring Break popped up out of nowhere and we found ourselves on a plane to Seattle. It had been seven months since we stepped foot outside of our little world in New York.

Esme picked us up from the airport and took us back to the Cullen home. Edward was ambushed by Alice dragging him to the tux shop to get him fitted perfectly. I was forced to model my dress for Rose and Alice to prove to them that it was perfect.

Rose and Alice's families arrived later in the afternoon along with Charlie. I got to spend the rest of the evening with my dad as everyone else was preparing for the wedding that was to take place the next day.

"Hi Dad." I said walking into his hotel lobby.

"Hey Bells! I'm so happy to see you." He said hugging me and pulling back to look closer at me. "How's school treating you? How's Edward treating you?"

"Edward is much nicer than school Dad." I laughed. "Everything is great. Don't worry so much."

We went to dinner together and he dropped my back at the Cullen's before heading back to his hotel. "I'll see you tomorrow at the wedding." I told him and kissed his cheek before hopping out of the car and heading into the house.

I reached Edward's room and walked in to find him and Emmett sitting Indian style on his bed.

"Am I interrupting some serious 'guy talk'?" I asked jokingly.

Emmett jumped up and headed out the door. I looked at Edward for information.

"He's nervous." He explained. "And for some reason he thought I would be able to give him advice." He shook his head. "I don't know anything about getting married and weddings."

"He just needed someone to talk to."

"How was your visit with your dad?" He asked as he scooted back on the bed so that he could shove his legs under the covers.

"Really good. He asked if you were good to me." I chuckled. "I told him that you were pretty nice."

"Pretty nice." He wondered and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, that describes me."

I grabbed my pajamas out of the suitcase and changed. I jumped up on the bed and pulled the blankets up to my neck. Edward clicked off the light and cuddled up with me for the night.

Alice's voice was like a siren in the morning. She pounded on our door to wake us up before barging in and pulling me from Edward's arms.

"Come on Bella, we have to start getting you ready." She instructed.

"Alice we have like four hours!" I whined. "I can be ready in less than one hour."

"Nope. We have a professional make-up artist and a hair designer to fix us up today. It takes time." Edward was laughing from the bed. "What do you think is so funny?" She said glaring at Edward. "We're having them take a stab at that hair of yours."

That shut him up. "Seriously? Why?" Alice just smirked as pulled me out of the room.

A few hours of torture later I had to say that I looked pretty good. The navy blue dress was beautiful and my hair was up and had beaded ribbons weaved through it.

The girls climbed into a limo and headed to the church. The men would be following later once they picked up Emmett and Jasper from Emmett's apartment.

The music started and it was time for me to make my way down the aisle. I was caught in a daydream about the day that maybe I would be getting married and Edward waiting for me at the end of the aisle.

During the ceremony I was in a trance staring at Edward looking so handsome in his tuxedo. He winked at me and gave me his crooked grin. I looked away and blushed a little at being caught gawking at him.

The reception was held at the hotel that the families were staying at. It was in a beautifully decorated hall. People were dancing and having a lot of fun. Since no one seemed to care, I indulged in some champagne instead of punch.

Edward asked me to dance and I agreed happily. He walked me out to the dance floor and held me in his arms. We started swaying to the music and I started giggling and couldn't stop.

"Bella? How many glasses of champagne did you have?" He asked looking amused.

"Just one." I lied. "OK, two." I lied again.

My dad came up and cut in on our dance. Edward stepped aside and I took Charlie's hand.

"You look beautiful Bells." He told me. I just smiled up at him still a little giggly from earlier, but I knew my dad would not be happy if he found out that I had been drinking. I put my head on his shoulder and continued the dance. The music stopped and changed tempo to a faster song. We walked back over to the table where Edward was waiting and Charlie handed me over to him.

I fell asleep in the limo on the ride back to the house. Laughter woke me up as Edward was trying to get me out of the car. Alice and Jasper were laughing at me as I staggered a little when I stepped out of the limo.

"It looks like you'll have your hands full tonight." Jasper snickered as I hung on to Edward around his middle for support.

"Make sure to have plenty of aspirin for the morning." Alice added before closing the car door.

We walked into the house, well I swayed and staggered while Edward tried to lead me in the right direction. He finally gave up and picked me up bridal style and carried me to his bedroom.

He set me down on the bed and turned to change his clothes and hang up the tux. While he was doing that I stripped out of my dress and let it pool at my feet. I kicked off my shoes and pulled at the awkward bra that Alice insisted I wear with the dress.

Edward walked out of the closet and laughed at my predicament. He came over with a t-shirt and set it on the bed.

"Do you need help?" He smirked. "That contraption looks complicated."

"Just get it off!" I almost shouted from frustration dropping my arms. He fumbled with the hooks and I swear it took him fifteen minutes to get the thing off of me. It didn't help that he was laughing so hard.

He finally removed it and I through it across the room as if it would feel my anger towards it. He handed me the t-shirt and I slipped it over my head.

Edward lifted the edge of the blankets for me to climb in. He crawled over me to his side and slid under the covers.

"Bella, you are going to feel like shit in the morning." He scolded and kissed my forehead.

I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes. I hiccupped once and Edward's chest started bouncing my head up and down from his laughter. "It's not funny." I said and rolled away from him.

"I'm sorry." He cooed and wrapped his arm around be from behind before nuzzling his face in my hair and neck. "Go to sleep, drunk girl."


	26. Chapter 26

When I cracked open my eyes in the morning I couldn't see anything besides a blinding white light. Did I die? I didn't think so unless they played Bob Marley in heaven.

I slowly started to move my limbs that seemed to weigh 400 pounds each. I raised my arm and placed my hand on my head over my eyes. I opened my eyes a little further to find that I didn't die, but I felt like I might want to. I slowly sat up and rested against the headboard. I looked to my left and found a glass of water and what looked to be Tylenol on the bedside table.

Edward must have been in the bathroom because suddenly I heard the sound of the shower turning on. I slid my legs off the side of the bed and reached over and picked up the Tylenol and water. I threw back the pills and swallowed them down with the water.

Pulling off the blankets, I stood and made my way over to the open bathroom door. When I walked in I noticed Edward's iPod plugged into the little speakers on the counter. I looked up to see Edward standing in the shower quietly singing along to Bob Marley's 'Is This Love'. He picked up a bottle of shampoo and examined the back before popping the top and smelling it. It must have smelled OK to him because he poured some out in his hand and rubbed it in his hair.

He turned and noticed me and his face lit up. He slid the door open and stuck his soapy head out. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm good. A little headache is all. Thanks for the Tylenol by the way."

"I knew that you would need it." He smirked.

I walked over to him and wiped away some shampoo that was about to drip in his eye. "A shower couldn't hurt either." I stripped off my clothes and climbed in.

Edward stuck his head under the water and rinsed out the soap before I got my hair wet. He then took the bottle of shampoo that he had used and poured more out in his hand.

He rubbed his hands together and massaged the shampoo into my hair and scalp. I put my hands on his sides while he ran his fingers through my hair. I looked up at his face to find him watching his hands in my hair and he had a serious look on his face. I started to giggle.

He dropped his eyes down to mine and asked. "What?"

"You are concentrating too hard on the simplest thing."

He rolled his eyes and turned me so that my head was under the spray and he could rinse out the shampoo.

Once we were both clean, we jumped out of the shower and dried off. I turned to hang up the wet towel but dropped it on the floor when Edward's arms snaked around my waist and his mouth crashed onto mine.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and he walked me backwards into the bedroom. When the back of my legs hit the bed I sat down and leaned back taking Edward with me.

"Edward?" I whispered. "Your parents are home."

"MmHm." He murmured into my neck while his hands reached my breasts and I forgot my argument and arched my back into him.

We really didn't have time for this. We were supposed to be downstairs and ready to go to the Cullen's country club brunch in about a half an hour.

I pushed at his chest and he rolled over onto his back. I rolled with him and straddled his hips so that I could get this show on the road. He smirked up at me and I leaned down and captured his lips with mine. I released his lips, rose up on my knees and slid myself down onto his awaiting erection. We both moaned loudly at the sensation.

His hands went to my hips to help me with my rhythm. It didn't take long for me to start to feel the familiar tingle deep inside me that would steadily build until I would be pushed over the edge with ecstasy.

"Oh…God…Edward!" I yelled as I was rocked by my orgasm tightening around Edward enough that it pushed him over the edge with a loud curse. "Fuck!"

I fell down on top of him and we were both panting. He rolled us onto our sides and brushed my wet hair out of my face. I ducked my head under his chin and started giggling.

"What?"

"That was a little loud don't you think?" I said still laughing. He shrugged and kissed my forehead.

"Maybe we should get dressed for this ridiculous brunch." He said sitting up and pulling me with him. "My mom left us some clothes in the closet that she wants us to wear."

We both quickly got dressed in the clothes that Esme provided. I was dressed in a dark green dress with cap sleeves and little buttons on the front. The hem went to just above my knees that were now both pink from our earlier activities. Hopefully it will go away before we get there.

I was just finishing drying my hair when Edward walked out of the closet with a disgusted look on his face. He was looking down at the dark polo and khaki pants that he was wearing.

"Hell no." He grumbled. "I look like my dad."

"You don't look like your dad."

"Are you kidding me?" He asked picking at the pleats in the front of his pants. "I'm not wearing these. And did you _see_ the shoes?" He pointed at some brown loafers sitting on the floor. "I'm not twelve."

Before I could say anything the shirt and pants were being stripped off and he was heading back into the closet. "You can't wear jeans." I hollered at him in the closet.

Five minutes later he came walking out with some dark grey 'Dickies' style pants and a black t-shirt. On his feet were some old Chucks that had to have seen better days.

"Your mom is not going to let you wear a t-shirt to her country club." I scolded him.

"I'll keep my jacket on." He mumbled.

We got to the bottom of the stairs to find Carlisle and Esme waiting near the front door. "Edward Anthony you look like you work in a gas station! Where are the clothes that I got for you?"

"Esme your son is a fashion pioneer. This look will be all the rage at country clubs across the US after today." I snickered and Edward pouted.

"Could you have at least combed your hair baby?" She said as she tried to smooth Edward's unruly hair. It didn't help that he didn't even try to sort it out before it dried.

Edward swatted his mother's hands away from his head.

"I think that we should get going." Carlisle said heading for the front door.

The four of us climbed into the Carlisle's black Mercedes and headed down the road.

Thirty minutes later we pulled up to the country club. There were several people milling around and other cars pulling up to the valet.

The club was near the water where the boating docks were. The Cullen's owned a boat and I was sure that it was tied up here. There was a golf course and a couple of large pools with cabanas and a bar.

We headed into a large dining area that held several tables and a buffet brunch. A couple of the country club staff waiters gave Edward a sour look most likely for his attire.

We were seated with a doctor and his wife that worked with Carlisle. The couple's daughter and her boyfriend were going to join us once they arrived.

The waiter came by to get a drink order and to offer champagne to the table from the tray he was holding. Edward snickered beside me when I refused the drink. The waiter also offered mimosas which Edward reached for but pulled his hand back when Carlisle cleared his throat loudly and I nudged him in the side.

Carlisle and Esme were bombarded with questions about Emmett's wedding. Esme answered with pride explaining the details of the ceremony and the reception and pulled out her digital camera to show the thousands of pictures that she took.

"Of course the professional pictures won't be ready for a few weeks." Esme informed the table. "Rosalie looked so beautiful."

"Where did they go on their honeymoon?" The woman asked. I think she was called Debra and her husband was Greg.

"They are spending the week in Hawaii in a fabulous resort." Esme gushed.

Edward and I tuned them out and were talking quietly in our own little bubble when two more guests arrived at the table.

"Oh Esme you remember our daughter Lauren right?" Debra asked. "This is her boyfriend Tyler. Lauren, Tyler this is Mr. and Mrs. Cullen and their son Edward and his girlfriend Bella."

Tyler reached his out to shake Carlisle hand. "Nice to meet you." He said and gave Edward the usual guy head nod before taking Esme's hand and gently shaking it.

"Lauren you and Edward went to school together didn't you?" Lauren's mother asked.

"Yes mother we did. Until the tenth grade anyway." She smirked and the table tensed.

"Now that we are all here, let's get some food from the wonderful looking buffet." Esme announced.

We all stood and made our way through the buffet line and back to the table. Edward and I sat and ate quietly while the conversation turned stuffy.

Lauren went on and on about some horse riding competitions that she did when she was younger and how her sister was doing it now. Tyler mentioned that he had been in a boarding school for his high school years and found it very interesting to be out with the regular people in college.

Esme of course praised Edward's accomplishments at Julliard and my attending NYU. Once Julliard was mentioned we found out that Lauren's best friend was Tanya.

Once everyone was done eating, Edward excused us from the table and we walked out of the dining hall. Before we made it out, Edward grabbed two mimosas off of the waiter's serving tray and headed out the door.

Edward handed me the drink and smiled. "I really don't want this." I told him. He threw back the one he had in his hand in two swallows and reached for mine. I rolled my eyes at him.

"What? This place is cheap, there's barely any alcohol in them." He defended. "I think I would need like fifteen more to even feel a buzz." I shoved his shoulder.

We continued to walk around the wrap around patio of the building. We came in on the ground floor, but from the back we were up on the second floor looking down at the golf course. We wandered down to the end away from all of the brunch attendees.

I turned and leaned against the railing. "Did you do this kind of thing a lot when you were a kid?"

"Yeah sometimes. Before I became the family's little secret. I haven't been here since before, you know."

"I don't think that you missed anything. These people are rude and snooty." I laughed and he came closer and put his hands on either side of me on the railing.

"So what do you want to do now?" He asked just an inch from my lips. "Mom and Dad have like thirty more people to bore with the details of Emmett and Rose's wedding before we can go home."

"I don't know." I said putting my hand on his cheek and closing the gap between our lips. Within seconds of lip to lip contact we were in a full make out session. My hands went into his already messy hair and he pulled me flush against his body.

I heard the clickity clack of several high heels coming close to us before I heard. "Disgusting." Uttered by an old woman's voice followed my murmurs of agreement.

I chuckled against Edward's lips before he urged me to continue where we left off.

A few minutes later Edward pulled his lips from mine looking behind his shoulder. I opened my eyes to see a security guard in a white polo and black pants glaring at us. He wore a radio microphone on his shoulder.

"You two need to move it along. This is a family establishment." He said with his hands on his hips. He reached up to his mic and pressed the button on the side. "Everything's code 4 here on the upper balcony. There's no need to send another officer."

The guard gave us another dirty look before striding off down the walkway. Edward looked at me and laughed. "Bella you are bright red."

He took my hand and led me down a staircase that ended at some cement paths. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"I told you that I used to have to come here as a kid. Emmett and I wandered all around here." He explained.

We came upon one of the large swimming pools. Even in the sixty degree weather people were still swimming.

"The pool is super heated so that the old people can get in all year if they want to. The cabanas have heaters too."

We walked into one of the cabanas. It had extra towels on a shelf and four lounge chairs. There were two tables between the loungers and a stereo with speakers in the corner.

"Must be nice." I commented.

"Not really. It's boring. You have to be quiet and you can't have any toys in the pool."

I smiled at him thinking that he had probably spent a lot of time here as a kid sitting in a pool cabana and sulking. Edward didn't really fit in with the rich kids.

We kept walking past most of the cabanas and came to a small building with several little doors. Edward smirked at me and opened one of the doors and pulled me in.

"What's this?" I asked looking at the small hooks on the walls and the terry cloth robes hanging on them. There was a counter with a mirror behind it and a small bench along the opposite wall from the counter.

"It's one of the changing rooms." He said turning the lock on the door.

"And what would we be doing in here?"

Edward stepped forward and put his hands on my hips. He pushed me back until my butt hit the counter. He kept his hands on my hips as he brushed his lips over mine and down my jaw to my neck. He started cinching my dress up around my thighs until he had it up and around my hips.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, what is it that you think you are doing?" I said almost breathlessly.

He smiled against the skin on my neck as he slid his hands into the sides of my panties and proceeded to slide them down my legs.

Edward kneeled down and helped my step out of them before he put them in the pocket of his pants.

He slowly stood back up running his hands up my legs until he got to my hips. He lifted me up and set me on the counter behind me and stood between my legs.

He unlatched his lips from my neck and put his forehead against mine. "What do you want to do Bella?"

I immediately went for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head and threw it on the floor. I grabbed the waistband of his pants and tugged him closer. His pants were loose and barely hanging on to his hips. I undid the button and zipper quickly and let his pants fall around his ankles.

Edward shoved down his boxers and pulled my hips to the edge of the counter before plunging himself into me. I brought my knees up and wrapped one leg around his hip and the other around the back of his thigh.

Our moans echoed in the almost empty room. The counter I was on was actually a table and was not connected to anything, and with every thrust it banged loudly against the wall.

I moaned loudly and screamed out his name when I reached my release. Edward came a few seconds later shouting my name followed by a few expletives.

I sat up straight and hugged him around his neck. "Love you."

He brought his hands to my face and kissed my slowly and deeply before pulling away. "I love you." He said against my lips.

He helped my off the table and I smoothed down my dress while he pulled up his boxers and pants. He slid his shirt over his head and smoothed it down over his chest.

"Can I have my panties back please?"

He just smirked at me and took my hand. "Later."

I straightened out my hair with my free and as Edward unlocked the dressing room door.

The door swung open and we were standing face to face with the security guard from the balcony plus two more guards.

"I should have known." The guard said shaking his head. "I'm going to have to ask you two to leave. Neither of you are welcome back here in the future."

Edward busted out in a full out laugh while my face burned red and I clung to Edward's arm. "Like I want to be here!" Edward blurted out between laughs.

The guard did not find it as funny as Edward did. He escorted us to the entrance of the building and waited for us to leave.

"Um…we didn't arrive here by ourselves." I told the guard. "We will have to wait here for the rest of our party."

"You can't stay here. Who are you with? I'll send a guard inside and get them for you. You two are not going in there." The guard said pointing at us.

"Dr. Cullen and his wife?" I almost whispered. Edward just leaned against the wall and was still chuckling to himself.

"I'll send someone in to get them." The guard said and I cringed.

Shit. How were we going to explain this? 'So yeah Carlisle we were really bored and horny so we decided to have a go at it in the poolside dressing rooms'. That's going to go over well.

I stood next to Edward and he took my hand. "Don't worry it will be fine. They'll just be mad at me."

I slapped my hand on my forehead in disbelief and he put his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

I just stood there with my face buried in Edward's chest. Carlisle and Esme should be out here any minute. How was I supposed to face them?


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Hey guys I'm still here! After the whole job layoff thing I had to move. I did a Bella and moved away from my sunny warm home to…you guessed it! Washington State where it is freaking snowing! Gah! I don't even own a coat!**

Edward and I stood in the valet area waiting for Carlisle and Esme to be brought out of the building. I was fidgeting back and forth nervously on my feet not able to look at any of the country club goers in the eye. Edward's arm that was around my waist tightened and he pulled me closer into his side.

The doors to the front of the club opened and out walked a flustered Esme, a stone faced Carlisle and what looked to be the club manager. They all stopped about twenty feet away from us. The valet jumped to attention and met Carlisle half way to get his retrieval ticket from him. The valet then went back to his post and called someone on a radio.

Carlisle glanced towards us but I didn't look at his face. Edward snorted and I looked up to find him trying to hold back a grin. Edward seemed to find this whole situation quite amusing. I, on the other hand, was mortified.

The club manager left and an older couple approached Carlisle and Esme. Esme let out a shaky laugh and had a fake smile on her face. Carlisle shook the man's hand. Our car arrived up front and Carlisle went to the driver's side while the original valet guy held open the door for Esme. Edward grabbed the back door and opened it before the valet could get to us. I stepped in and scooted over behind Carlisle. Edward climbed in and shut the door.

The drive home was very quiet. Edward held my hand in his and intertwined our fingers. Every so often he would lean down and whisper comforting words in my ear before kissing my ear or my temple.

We arrived back to the Cullen house and we all got out of the car and headed into the house at the back door. Before we made it to the door, Carlisle put his hand on Edward's shoulder. "Meet me in my study in five minutes." Carlisle said with a too calm of a voice. I looked at Edward and he just shrugged with the amused look still on his face.

Once in the kitchen, Esme started pulling things out of the pantry to cook something. Carlisle walked straight out of the room; most likely he was headed to his study. Edward and I went out to the living room.

"I think that they are really mad." I said to Edward with a grimace on my face.

"Probably." He said closing the distance between us and placing his hands on the side my face. "But it doesn't make me feel any different. I am not ashamed that everyone at that stuffy country club knows how much I love you." He brought his lips down to mine in a tender kiss before he ran off up the stairs to his father's study.

As I walked back into the kitchen I was thinking about what he had said about not being 'ashamed'. I was definitely embarrassed, but I wasn't ashamed of what we had done, the act itself. I did feel that the place in which we did it may have been a little inappropriate, since we were caught and all.

I was still lost in my thoughts as I sat down on the bar stool at the island in the kitchen. Esme turned and placed her elbows on the counter in front of me and sighed. I looked up into her eyes and also sighed. "I'm sorry Esme."

She took my hand in hers. "It's Ok honey. We are all young at one point in time and do _spontaneous_ things." She patted my hand and got some vegetables out of the fridge and brought them to the cutting board by the sink.

I got up off the stool and stood next to her. "Can I help?" I asked.

"Sure." She said handing me a chopping knife and a couple of onions. "So how are things in New York?"

"Good, school is going great for both of us." I told her. "There is only three months left of classes. I can't wait to be able to relax and do something fun instead of studying. I'm sure Edward will still keep working over the whole summer though. You know how he can get."

"That's not exactly what I meant." She said cautiously. "Things between the two of you seem great, but how _is_ Edward?"

I stood there for a moment wondering what she was getting at, and then it dawned on me.

"Oh…um…fine. He fits in really well at school. He's made a couple of friends." I didn't really want to go where she wanted this conversation to go. I knew what she wanted to know, but I felt like I was betraying Edward somehow spilling all of his personal secrets. His relationship with his parents had improved tremendously before we left home, but Edward still held some resentment stored away for them.

"And his anger issues?"

"He can still get frustrated sometimes." I told her.

"Bella, please." She pleaded setting down the head of lettuce she was washing. "Has he ever just taken off for a few days like he used to?"

"No." I didn't have the heart to tell her that the only times that he had done that was over something that had happened between him and his parents. In fact, I was a little worried about the conversation that was going on in the study. It had been twenty minutes.

Carlisle walked into the kitchen and smiled at me and Esme. I must have looked confused or worried because Carlisle came over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Edward is upstairs. He asked me to tell you to meet him up there."

I left the kitchen and headed up the stairs to Edward's room. Carlisle seemed to be in a good mood, I only hoped that Edward would be too.

I opened the bedroom door to find Edward sitting on the couch with his head in his hands and he was shaking slightly.

I practically ran over to him and sat next to him on the couch, placing my hand on his back. "Edward, are you OK?" I asked.

He lifted his head up from his hands and he had the biggest smile on his face. He started laughing and fell back against the couch. "I just had the strangest conversation with my dad." He said through his laughter.

"What did he say?"

"More or less he told me that he was happy that our sex life was good, but he didn't feel that it should have been expressed at his country club. He was happy however, that we didn't put on a show for the whole place to see like Lauren did last summer."

"Lauren?"

"Yeah apparently she was caught sucking off some guy in one of the pool cabanas and then not thirty minutes later she was on her knees again with one of the waiters behind the bar in the restaurant between dinner sittings."

"Oh my god!" I shrieked covering my mouth with my hand. "She gets around."

"That's not all!" He said in full gossip mode. "A week later she was boning a _different _guy in the hot tub."

"Remind me to skip the hot tub if we are ever allowed to go back to the club." I chuckled.

"No kidding! So basically my dad said that in the future we should use a little more control or be less conspicuous because when they were younger he and my mother never got caught." He shuddered a little at the thought of his parents having sex in public places, or anywhere for that matter.

I started giggling at the look on his face. "Your face is priceless!"

"I bet I could get this look" He waved his hand around his face. "On you face pretty fast."

"What?"

"My dad also said that after what he heard coming out of this room this morning you should have been able to keep your hands off of me for one afternoon." He smirked as my face heated up.

"Wait a minute. Keep my hands off of you? He did not say that! You're lying!" I said shoving his shoulder as hard as I could while he laughed even harder. "I guarantee that I will keep my hands to myself from now on." I folded my arms across my chest.

Before I could even blink, Edward had pushed me back on the couch and was hovering over me. I stuck my hands out in between us and opened them and wiggled my fingers. "To myself!" I said as I balled up my hands and shoved them under my arms.

While leaning on one elbow, Edward reached back to my knee and hitched my leg over his hip. He slid his hand down my thigh and under my dress. "Ooh I forgot about this!" He said while his hand rediscovered my naked bottom.

"Ed-_ward_." I said my voice jumping up an octave when I felt his fingers travel between my legs.

"Yes Bella? Did you need something?" He said as his tongue traced the shell of my ear and his fingers continued to move against my very aroused and sensitive area.

"Um…I…oh!" Was all I could get to come out of my mouth when I opened it.

A smug crooked smile spread across Edward's face as I squirmed beneath him.

Rose and Emmett came home the next morning and announced their arrival by busting in Edward's room at 9am.

"We're back!" Emmett shouted while jumping up on the bed.

Edward and I both groaned and Edward sat up and threw a pillow at his brother. "Ew! Are you guys naked under there?" Edward was just wearing boxers and from Emmett's point of view he must have looked like he had nothing on under the blanket. I had pulled the blanket to cover myself due to the fact that I had only been wearing a skimpy tank top and bikini panties.

"No fucker, we _were_ sleeping though!" Edward growled. "Get out!"

About an hour later Edward and I made it down to the kitchen for breakfast. I was happy to get a chance to see Rose before Edward and I had to head back to New York the next day.

We were all sitting around the kitchen table while Esme finished up with the pancakes she was making for breakfast.

"So I was thinking that maybe we could go to the club for dinner tonight." Emmett started. "I was hoping to show Rose the place and since it's Edward and Bella's last night here it would be fun."

I suddenly looked down at my lap, Edward snorted again, and Esme chuckled over what Emmett had just suggested. Carlisle, as it turned out, found the whole situation to be quite funny and laughed out loud.

"What?!" Emmett said looking at all of our different responses to the idea. "What is going on?"

"Bella and your brother have been asked not to return to the club." Carlisle told Emmett.

Emmett's head snapped over to face Edward. "No, no way!" Edward just looked at him with a smug expression on his face. "And I suppose that it was in the poolside dressing room too?"

Edward gave Emmett a single nod.

"Fuck you!" Emmett shouted pointing at Edward. "You knew that that was _my _spot you jerk!"

Edward just started laughing as Emmett pouted.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Rose asked Emmett looking a little annoyed.

"I told Edward once when we were in high school that if I ever brought a girl to the club that I would totally…well…you know…in the poolside dressing room." Emmett explained. "And he royally ripped me off!"

"Boys!" Esme scolded. "That is no way to talk or think about women."

"Sorry mom." They both said in unison, but Emmett kept his eyes on Edward to let him know that this conversation was not over.

We all decided to go to dinner at a different restaurant and that Emmett would be able to take Rose to the club another time. Heavily supervised by Carlisle and Esme, of course.

We had just told Edward's family goodbye at the car and were now sitting on the plane heading home. Edward was scrunched down in his seat fast asleep with his hand in mine and his head leaning on my shoulder.

I couldn't help but think about how great our lives were now. We had a great family and had fantastic friends. Most of all we had each other. I couldn't ask for more.

I looked down at his sleeping face and was overwhelmed with how much that I loved him. I leaned down and kissed his head before closing my eyes for the remainder of the flight.

_Epilogue…_

_Two years later…_

As I sit here with our family and friends and watch the love of my life accept the diploma that took four years to earn, I think back to when we first met in that Psychology class.

Where would I be now if we had not been forced into each other's lives by that seating chart? Homeless, rotting away in prison, strung out on a park bench, dead? Who knows? All I know is that she accepted the broken boy that I was and turned me into the man I am today.

I still don't understand why she put up with the shit I put her through those first few months. She told me it was because she loved me from the first time she laid eyes on me. I had a hard time believing that, but I can see how it could be true. I had felt the same way.

We were going to stay in New York now that we had both graduated. Bella had gotten an internship at a prestigious publishing company as an editor's assistant for the summer. She had been accepted into NYU's graduate program for next fall which would leave us here for at least three more years.

A couple of months ago I had been contacted through my school by a producer that had wanted to use a song that I had composed for a movie that was being made and had asked for me to write another one for a commercial that he was doing.

Things couldn't be going any better for us.

My parents, my brother and his pregnant wife, Jasper, Alice, and Bella's dad Charlie were sitting with me watching the ceremony.

I had told my dad that there was no way in hell that anyone would be staying with us tonight at our loft. Carlisle forked out the money for everyone to stay in my mother's favorite hotel for their visit.

Bella and I had some celebrating to do.

Clapping erupted all around me bringing me out of my thoughts. I watched as Bella skipped over and flung her arms around my neck. "Congratulations." I said before kissing her with so much passion that it was borderline inappropriate to be in public.

When we pulled apart she was dragged out of my arms and into Rose and Alice's. She was being hugged and kissed by my family and she was finally released to her father. He hugged her so tight. Charlie was so proud of his only daughter.

Bella made it back to my arms and I looked at Charlie and he gave me a smile and patted my shoulder in acceptance.

Only Charlie knew of my plans for tonight.

I had set it up that our celebratory dinner was being catered to our home within the hour.

We would be the only ones home.

And I was going to ask Bella to spend the rest of her life with me.

As my wife.

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the story. It was a great turn out for my first fic. I apologize for not responding to everyone, I honestly didn't know what to say. ****I had to end it; I didn't want to run it into the ground. Again thanks so much for the encouraging words and helpful comments. ****I have another story out there if you are interested. It is only three chapters in so far. It's called: "Ding! You Are Free to Move About the Cabin".**

**Thanks again!**


	28. Author's Note

A/N: Okay, so some of you have told me in reviews and PM's that there were some unanswered questions in the story. I totally get that, I felt the same way. So I've been working on, not necessarily a sequel, but a companion story.

I wanted to add it to the story, but it didn't flow right with me. So I'm making it a separate story that probably won't be too long. I've already written out four chapters of it, but I am not finished editing it yet.

It's not like most stories out there…you'll see why.

It's called "Meadowlands" and it is all Edward.

Please let me know if this is the part of the story you thought was missing.

Thanks!


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